


The Smallest of These

by Faequeen40



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: 5+1 Things, Angst, Attempted Brainwashing, Attempted assassination, Bamf Pidge, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Guilt, Kidnapping, Paladins Being Badasses, Poison, Team Angst, Violence, background klance, background shallura - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2018-12-01 02:09:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 65,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11476389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faequeen40/pseuds/Faequeen40
Summary: Five times Pidge was protected by her Voltron family and the one time she returns the favor





	1. Yellow

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all!  
> I know that this isn't a Songbird-verse fic but it is definitely one that I've been wanting to write for a while now. I definitely haven't forgotten about "Within the Gilded Cage", there will certainly be more coming but for now I wanted to write this fun little thing.  
> Enjoy!

The atmosphere of the bar was dark, a dankness to the scarred interior that spoke of seedy customers and even seedier business. It was a haunt of those that operated outside of the law, or as much of the law that still existed under Zarkon’s reign.

Freedom fighters and slavers drank at smooth wooden tables, eyes out for the constant threat of violence or a new contract.

It was in this room that Korvar the Unyielding sat, shiny taut skin adorning the side of his face, the telltale kiss of a blaster gleaming in the dim light of the bar. He barely stirred when several others sat around him, new scars and bandages marking at their skin as well.

He grunted as way of acknowledging their existence, staring into the depths of his drink, four black eyes peering into the green fluid as if they held all the answers of the universe. At last, the bartender sauntered over, multiple arms moving over the bar expertly, reptilian eyes regarding the five scarred individuals in front of him.

“So what the frell happened to you lot?” He spat gruffly, wiping at a spot on the bar even as he poured yet another drink.

Korvar glanced to either side of himself before setting his drink down, the glass clinking against the surface with a harsh sound. “I had a run in with the paladins of Voltron.” He said shortly, looking up at the curious bartender.

“The Paladins of Voltron?” The bartender scoffed, eyes trained on the group in front of him, “You expect me to believe that you were beaten by a child’s story?”

“I was once like you.” Korvar hummed, swirling his drink in his glass, “But I’ve seen them.”

“We all have.” A veiled woman huffed, bandaged hands curling around a flute of something sparkly and expensive.

“So Voltron isn’t a myth.” The bartender hummed, planting tow of his hands on the bar while the other set crossed over his broad chest, “I’ll admit I’m surprised. But you got bloodied by a giant robot?”

“Of course not, dipshit.” A furry eared woman spat, “Voltron has real people in it. They’re the Paladins. And they’re dangerous.”

“Not all of them.” A thin man replied, his voice nasally and grating, “Only the Black Paladin is a true threat.”

“Nonsense.” The veiled woman hissed, “It’s their Princess you have to worry about.”

Korvar set his drink down with a loud clatter, the noise silencing the brewing argument in the bar.

“You’re all fools.” Korvar grumbled, meeting the bartender’s slitted eyes, “Yellow is the one you need to watch.”

The others at the bar exploded into a cacophony of noise and insults, each of them yelling in an attempt to speak over each other.

“Blue is the most dangerous!”

“No, Red!”

“Purple!”

“There is no Purple Paladin, you idiot!”

The bartender tensed at the rising tide of noise in his bar and he slammed all four of his hands down on the bar.

“QUIET!!!”

Korvar snapped his gaze back to the bar, hand curling around the handle of his crossbow, eyeing the four-armed bartender dangerously.

“Clearly, you all have very different ideas about these ‘Paladins’.” The bartender snarled, “But yelling over each other in _my_ bar accomplishes nothing but making me mad.”

“How would you suggest we solve this quandary?” The thin man simpered, long fingered hands flipping a coin between his digits, “How do we determine which Paladin is the most dangerous?”

The bartender gave a long suffering sigh, propping his chin on one hand, the other three drumming their fingers on the surface of the bar.

“Why don’t you each tell the stories of those fancy new scars and we’ll decide afterward which Paladin is the most dangerous.”

Silence reigned in the bar, the patrons on the fringes now watching the six in front of the bartender intently. “Well?”

Korvar released his hold on his crossbow and relaxed into his chair, a devious grin on his face. “A contest then?”

“Where did you even get that notion-You know what, fine. A contest. Spin your stories.” The bartender groaned, a strange fuzziness blurring their skin for a moment before it resolved.

“I’ll go first.” Korvar insisted, resuming his staring at the bottom of his glass.

The bartender nodded at him, a crafty and calculating look on his scaly face.

Korvar didn’t entirely trust him but he paid him no mind.

He was naught but a bartender.

“A few weeks ago, I was contracted by one of my regulars, a trader with a direct line to Zarkon’s high command.” Korvar bragged, ignoring the hisses that greeted the utterance of Zarkon’s name, “They wanted me to take out the Green Paladin for hacking their systems and destroying their network. He sounded like a real nasty bastard.”

“A true nuisance.” The furry eared man nodded, quailing under Korvar’s fierce glare.

“It wasn’t until I tracked the Castle of Lions to the planet of Yermatil that I finally had my chance at him…..”

~~~~

Hunk couldn’t help but gawk at the sheer enormity of the market that stretched out ahead of him, the smell of spices and roasting meat wafting on the Yermitilian breeze.

“Guys. Guys, I think I found space heaven.” Hunk hummed happily, turning back to the other paladins to see them sporting fond smiles.

“You did make an excellent choice.” Allura grinned, her eyes almost sparkling under her hood, “Certainly much better than Keith’s planet.”

“How was I supposed to know the plants were gonna try to eat us?” Keith protested, “Besides, that was all Lance’s fault.”

Hunk suppressed a knowing snicker when Keith threw a smirk in Lance’s direction, the bait working perfectly.

“Oh, don’t try to pin this one me, Mullet.” Lance said dramatically, keeping pace as the Red Paladin strode forward toward the bustling market.

“Be careful, you two!” Shiro called after their retreating backs, his tone making Hunk grin.

“They’ll be fine, Shiro.” Allura said, pulling him along with barely contained excitement, “Keep in contact. We’ll meet back here at nightfall!”

Hunk watched the other three paladins and their princess disappear into the crowds of the market, a bright smile curling over his face as he turned back to a bleary Pidge.

“There is so much going on…” She groaned, shielding her eyes against the brightness.

“Hate to say it but told you so. I told you to go to bed hours ago.” Hunk sang, throwing an arm over her shoulder.

Pidge grumbled at him but made no move to get away from his arm, a smile fighting its way onto her face.

“Come on, Pidge. Let’s go explore.”

“Oh my quiznack, Hunk. If you smile any brighter, I might actually go blind.”

Grin continuing to stretch his face, Hunk pulled Pidge along, the two of them disappearing into the crowds of Yermatil.

The sights and sounds of the market were nearly overwhelming. Aliens of all shapes and sizes milled between booths, the buzz and click of their languages putting Hunk into a strange ease. Merchants hawked their wares, calling out prices and trying to coax customers into their booths.

Dust puffed around their feet as people padded along, grimy children darting in between customers and merchants alike, fingers grasping at anything not tied down.

“You look like you’re going to cry.” Pidge said idly, looking up at him with concerned golden eyes.

“Dude, the Castle is way too quiet.” Hunk replied solemnly, “I’d almost forgotten what it’s like to be surrounded by people who _don’t_ want to kill us.”

Pidge’s expression softened and she tapped her head against Hunk’s shoulder in solidarity. “Yeah. It is different.” She mused, “It’s all good, big guy. Let’s go. You picked this planet for a reason, right?”

“Yup.” Hunk smiled, “According to Coran and the information we got from the Olkari, this place is the best market in this sector for fresh foods and spices. A lot of it even smells like the farmer markets back home….And they may or may not have a great black market for tech. Galra tech in particular.”

Pidge snorted and let Hunk pull her deeper into the market, the two of them bypassing a bickering Lance and Keith crowded around a knife booth while an excitedly bouncing Allura darted to the next stall, Shiro’s arms already weighed down with bags as he followed her with a laugh.

“They’re all so cute. I could barf.” Pidge grinned.

Hunk nodded, fondness for his teammates and the relationships they had with each other blooming in his chest.

“Allura sure is excited.” Pidge noted, the dryness in her voice not going unnoticed.

Turning to her with a bright grin, Hunk watched as her blank expression fell away, a smile creeping back over her face. “I don’t think Allura had a lot of chances to get out. Letting us pick a planet like this every few months may be a small way for her to unwind too.” Hunk explained, “Plus, she didn’t get to come with us to the space mall, remember?”

A wicked grin overtook Pidge’s face at the mention of their ill-fated excursion and she relaxed. “That was fun. We’ll have to go back sometime.”

“No thanks.” Hunk said firmly, “I’m pretty sure that Galra guy is still out to kidnap me.”

“You are pretty awesome at cooking.” Pidge considered, nodding her head.

“But is that really kidnapping worthy?” Hunk queried, stopping to inspect some twisted, root-like vegetables, Coran’s scanner in his hands.

“If you could somehow manage to make peanut butter out here, I would kidnap you.” Pidge said seriously, moving to Hunk’s side just in time for something silvery to lodge itself in the ground where she had been standing.

~~~~

“You missed?” The furry eared woman sneered, “How could you miss?”

Korvar fixed the female with a murderous glare, the shiny scar tissue pulled tight around his eye.

“I believe this is my tale.”

“By all means, continue. The epic of the utterly incompetent hitman, Korvar the Unyielding, is scintillating.” The thin man jeered, beady eyes locked on Korvar eagerly.

Brushing off the interjections of his audience, Korvar continued.

~~~~

Hunk narrowed his eyes at the offending silver projectile, the beep of Coran’s machine going unheard in his distraction.

“Oh, bummer. These weird root things are basically full of cyanide.” Pidge observed, craning her head to the side to read the characters scrolling across the screen.

“What?” Hunk jolted, the observation pulling him from his slow scan of the area.

“Yeah, see? These are full of cyanide.” Pidge repeated, pointing to the screen.

“Cyanide is supposed to smell like almonds.” Hunk said longingly, looking back to the vegetable.

“Ha ha, no. Poison is bad, Hunk.” Pidge sighed, pulling at Hunk’s arm, “We take enough of a risk with Coran’s cooking some nights. Let’s not introduce actual toxins.”

Reluctantly, Hunk let himself be pulled along by the smallest Paladin, the hustle and bustle of the market pulling them in once more.

Even as he enjoyed the atmosphere, Hunk couldn’t help but be wary, eyes darting down alleys and into corners.

Someone had tried to hit Pidge with something. Something dangerous.

Even with their armor, whatever it was had the possibility of doing damage. And they were aiming for her head.

As he wandered to another booth selling strange and fantastical fruits and vegetables, Hunk tried to push his wariness and worries to the back of his mind.

Maybe it was just an accident?

He pulled the scanner from his belt once more, humming happily as the Altean technology dinged. Pidge peered at it from beside him, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, her Altean skills amateur but more than enough to translate the scanner.

Although, Hunk worried about how she figured out what cyanide was in Altean.

She leaned back in triumph, a flicker of silver flying past where her head had been just as she moved, one of the large purple gourds exploding into pieces as the projectile hit.

“Huh. Exploding fruit. Can’t say that’s a first.” Pidge frowned, “The pineapple looking things are safe and so are the blue carrots. The grapes can apparently ‘burn holes in the esophagus’ though. I don’t think that’s good.”

Distracted, Hunk gathered a basketful of the produce Pidge had pointed out and paid the vendor, his expression so hard that the alien didn’t even try to haggle.

“Is everything okay, Hunk?” Pidge asked at last, worry on her face.

“I think someone is trying to shoot you.”

Pidge leveled him with a serious stare, tension filling the line of her shoulders.

“Well? Let’s go kick their ass.” Pidge growled, “They could be working for Zarkon. If we track them down, we could get some information.”

“You definitely spend too much time with Keith.” Hunk said dryly, “And that’s not a good idea. If you get closer, they might get a clearer shot. If I could just figure out where he’s shooting from…”

Pidge grinned deviously and pulled up the computer in her suit. “I might have something to help with that. We just have to disappear.”

Hunk nodded in understanding, already scanning the surrounding area.

He had spent so much time sneaking around with Lance that it was almost second nature to look for hiding places.

And a busy market like this was _absolutely_ full of them.

He nodded towards a crowded booth, the open mouth of an alley clearly accessible. Pidge followed his lead, sticking close as they made their way through the crowd. When they reached the alley, Hunk nodded to Pidge and her fingers flew across her keyboard.

“You know, I think I understand now how you and Lance managed to sneak out of the Garrison all the time.”

“Lance had a lot of pent of teenage rebellion.” Hunk shrugged, “I guess Iverson wasn’t nearly scary as his mom.”

“As much as we’ve heard about his mother, I wouldn’t be surprised.” Pidge mused, inputting a few more commands before exclaiming in triumph, a holographic image of herself fizzling into existence.

“Not gonna lie, that is probably one of the coolest things I’ve seen you do.” Hunk grinned, a bit of the tension leaving Pidge’s shoulders.

“I’m gonna have the hologram go wander around in the market. Watch carefully for where the shot comes from. Once you know, we’ll go.” Pidge strategized, her hazel eyes calculating.

“Yeah, no. I’m going after him. I want you to go get everyone else. He’s clearly after you.” Hunk said sternly, “This guy is already gonna be mad when he realizes it’s a hologram.”

“I’ll be able to take care of myself, Hunk.” Pidge said tightly, “I’m just as much of a Paladin as the rest of you.”

Hunk frowned and put a large hand on her shoulder. “I know that. And honestly, you’re one of the best people I could even ask for to be at my back. But I don’t want you to get hurt, Pidge. You’re family.

Pidge faltered at his words, her defiant expression turning determined. "Fine. I'll go get the others. But don't do anything dumb, Hunk. I don't want to lose you either. You're family too."  
  
A (hopefully reassuring) smile spread across Hunk's face and he nodded. "Don't worry, Pidge. I can handle this." He bluffed, ignoring the tremble in his hands.  
  
Someone was trying to kill Pidge. The smallest and youngest of the Paladins.  
  
And it infuriated Hunk.  
  
She was so little, perfectly suited for crawling through air vents and sneaking about. Despite her devious nature and biting wit, Hunk still thought of her like a younger sister.  
  
The Paladins of Voltron were his family and he'd be damned if he let someone hurt them.  
  
The rush of anger steadied his hands and he gave her a thumbs up, mentally brushing over the unsettled look on her face. After a moment, she hunkered behind him, fingers flying over the holographic keys of her arm computer.  
  
"Alright, here we go, Hunk." She warned, holographic double strolling out of their cover and into the open space of the market.  
  
Hunk tensed as he watched the holographic Pidge dart around, the resemblance between the hologram and the real Pidge so uncanny that he had to glance behind him to make sure that she was still there.  
  
"Keep watching, Hunk. The shooter won't fall for this a second time."  
  
"I am, just...that hologram is just really realistic." Hunk returned, letting his eyes track the fake Pidge's progress.  
  
"Throws me for a loop too." Pidge admitted, "Anything yet?"  
  
"No, but the vendors are looking at you funny." Hunk chuckled, carefully scanning the area.  
  
"I had the feeling they were doing that earlier." Pidge snorted, "Must've thought that I was going to steal something."  
  
"To be honest, you do have that devious look about you." Hunk teased, tension building in his shoulders the longer the clone roamed the market.  
  
"I'll remember that, Hunk."  
  
He opened his mouth to respond when a silver projectile beamed directly at their hiding place, the bolt sailing from one of the large buildings on the edge of town. Instinctively, Hunk pushed himself and Pidge to the ground, the crater in the walls where her head had been making a cold fury bloom in Hunk's chest.  
  
"That didn't work." Pidge huffed from her prone position on the ground.  
  
"Yeah, it did." Hunk said dangerously, his hand still splayed on Pidge's back, "I got him."  
  
She looked up from the dirt, dust smeared over one side of her face as she grinned. "Still sticking to the plan then?" She smirked, fingers already working over her keypad.  
  
"Yes." Hunk replied, voice curt, "He's mine."  
  
~~~~  
  
"A rather perceptive one, that Yellow." The last member of the six purred, "Maybe you should have taken him as collateral damage."  
  
The bartender hummed thoughtfully, mindlessly cleaning another glass. "Hindsight is 20/20."  
  
"That is a strange saying." The veiled woman murmured, a piercing yellow gaze briefly visible.  
  
"My tale isn't done." Korvar snarled, "Your interruptions are becoming irritating."  
  
"Go on then."  
  
~~~~  
  
Moving to his feet, Hunk rolled the tension from his shoulders before setting them firmly. He could feel his brows furrow and his mouth pulled down into a firm frown.  
  
"Hunk?" Pidge called quietly, anger filling her features as well, "Give him hell."  
  
A calm sort of fury settled over Hunk and he drummed his fingers over his leg, the subspace pocket that held his bayard humming to life.  
  
The yellow bayard jumped to his hand he turned to the building the bolt had come from. "Be careful." Pidge warned, her figure disappearing in his periphery as she engaged her prototype cloaking on her suit.  
  
Determined, Hunk strode forward, the crowd parting around him like water around a stone. Customers and vendors alike jumped out of his way and a few children trailed far behind him, eyes curious but cautious.  
  
He made it to the foot of the building much quicker than he anticipated and without a single warning shot. The lack of obstacles left him blinking in an angry sort of confusion.  
  
It wasn't supposed to be that easy, right? He had marched right up to the front door after all.  
  
He looked at the building in front of him critically, frowning deeply at the dilapidated state of the structure.  
  
Was he sure the shot had come from here? What if the shooter had already moved and was searching for Pidge?  
  
Steeling himself, he marched onward to the building, pushing down his worries as he squeezed past the badly barricaded door with only a few adjustments to the board that had been propped over it. He scanned the abandoned interior, wide footprints interrupting the thick dust on the floor.  
  
Really? It was almost like this guy was leaving him a map.  
  
Cautiously, Hunk crept forward, sure that such an obvious trail was a trap. The enemy had to be lying in wait. After a few moments of nothing, Hunk paused, previous confusion building.  
  
Surely someone skilled enough to nearly snipe Pidge from across a busy market would be competent enough to protect his back?  
  
~~~~  
  
"You didn't set any traps?" The furry-eared woman snorted, "How amateur!"  
  
"Of course I set traps, wench." Korvar snarled, "But Yellow was far cleverer than I had anticipated. He breezed through every snare I set and snuck up on me with the utmost of secrecy."  
  
"Your tale is simply too much." The thin man wheezed, "Please continue."  
  
Insulted, Korvar did as he was bid.  
  
~~~~  
  
As quietly as he could, Hunk moved up the stairs, grimacing everything a plank groaned under his feet. The wood was old and rotting, every step an adventure in testing Hunk's reflexes.  
  
The building was honestly a death trap and Hunk was surprised it hadn't collapsed already. It wouldn't take much.  
  
He made it to the second landing without an incident, the sturdier floor making breathe a quiet sigh of relief.  
  
After a moment, Hunk could hear angry muttering coming from one of the rooms, the incensed words soon overshadowed by the telltale click of a weapon loading.  
  
Fury momentarily blinded Hunk and the bayard in his hand blazed to life, the heavy Gatling gun grounding him.  
  
"Where did that pest scurry off to now?" The voice snarled, "His giant of a shield is gone. Now's the perfect chance."  
  
Hunk slid closer, peering at the crack of the door to the far room, the voice of Pidge's assailant echoing from within.  
  
He sounded gruff and old, a voice that made Hunk think of movie bikers and cartoon villains.  
  
It was ridiculous and mildly infuriating all in one.  
  
This was the person trying to kill Pidge. This caricature was trying to snuff out the life of the Green Paladin.  
  
And it was unacceptable.  
  
The thought overpowered the rest of his anxiety and he planted his foot in the door, the wood splintering as he kicked it out of his way, an approving growl from the Yellow Lion echoing in the back of his mind.  
  
The assailant started badly, immediately rolling over and lodging a crossbow bolt in the wood beside Hunk's head.  
  
"Who in the frell are you?" the assailant demanded, four black eyes flicking intently from Hunk's face to the giant gun in his hands.  
  
"That's what I should be asking you!" Hunk retorted, "You were trying to kill my friend!"  
  
"The giant of a shield." the assailant hissed, puffing his chest up in an attempt at intimidation, "Tell me where the Green Paladin is!"  
  
~~~~  
  
"I had Yellow right where I wanted him. Pinned down. Helpless." Korvar hummed, audience spellbound as he spoke, "Victory was within my grasp, I could feel it."  
  
He ignored the bartender's snort.  
  
~~~~  
  
Oh hell no.  
  
Hunk's eyebrows furrowed further and he hefted his Gatling gun into position.  
  
"The name is Hunk and I'm the Yellow Paladin." Hunk growled, "You're not going anywhere near Green."  
  
The assailant leveled his crossbow, four eyes narrowed. "The pleasure is all mine, Yellow Paladin, but your friend's life is forfeit. Get out of my way unless you mean to join him."  
  
With his statement, he open fired, silver bolts flying across the room with poor accuracy. They busted through the walls, punching great holes in the already crumbling structure.  
  
~~~~  
  
"It was a truly impressive firefight. Blaster fire and crossbow bolts filled the air. He was deft and clever, moving out from the path of my shots with graceful ease. I have never faced such a capable foe."  
  
"Weren't you in a crumbling building?" The bartender said dryly, lifting a scaly eyebrow.  
  
"I'm getting to that." Korvar grumbled, turning back to his impatient audience, "The fight seemed like it was in my favor..."  
  
~~~~  
  
He didn't really bother to dodge. It was clear this guy was panicking, the wild shots were proof enough of that.  
  
The assailant definitely didn't expect to be discovered.  
  
Hunk took a step forward, a bit of pity for the guy overpowering the anger he had previously held.  
  
This guy may have had good aim across the market but he didn't seem like a bloodthirsty killer. Or a particularly competent hitman.  
  
He just seemed kind of sad.  
  
As soon as Hunk's foot hit the ground, the assailant sharpened, the panic in his eyes dimming. His bolts started flying closer, enough that Hunk had to duck and call for his shield.  
  
Hunk darted under yet another silver bolt and brought up his gun, firing off a few rounds as a warning.  
  
The gun had seemed like it scared him and Hunk wasn't sure he wanted to kill this guy.  
  
They might be able to get some information out of him.  
  
He didn't come across as especially smart.  
  
His observation was proven when the assailant dodged into the blaster fire, the attack bloodying the entire side of his face.

The hitman let out a bloodcurdling scream, the noise making the hair raise on the back of Hunk’s neck, guilt immediately settling like a stone in his stomach. “Surrender yourself.” He bit out, swallowing bile when the hitman glared up at him, face grotesque.

“I will not surrender myself, Yellow Paladin.” The hitman snarled, “I am Korvar the Unyielding and I will die before I let myself surrender.”

Hunk had no time to react as the crossbow hummed, the incoming bolt flying past his face and embedding itself in the wall, After a moment, it began to beep insistently and the hitman dove out the window, glass exploding outward as he caught the remaining pane in the crumbling frame.

Reflexes dimmed by surprise, Hunk tried to follow after him when the beeping stopped ominously, the subtle click on an ignition firing making him whirl, already dismissing his bayard and calling on his shield.

The blast exploded outward and his world went black.

~~~~

Korvar sat back in his chair as his audience gaped, a smug satisfaction curling over his face at the silence in the room.

“You killed him?” The bartender snorted, a bit of stiffness in his shoulders, “How are you supposed to prove he was the most dangerous if you killed him?”

“Oh, it would take more than that to take Yellow down.” Korvar smirked, crossing his arms over the barrel of his chest, “Even with that blast, he was still moving. It wasn’t fast but there’s no way it killed him.”

“Why didn’t you finish the job, then?” The thin man simpered, “You brought a building down on him. You could have eliminated your obstacle there and come back for the Green Paladin. A sloppy move.”

“My wounds were too much.” Korvar grumbled, “I took his blasted gun to the face. At the time I hit the ground, I could only think of escape. Live to fight another day.”

“We’ve all been there.” The furry eared man sighed, “I wonder what happened to the Yellow Paladin after you escaped.”

~~~~

The explosion still rang in his ears as he laid among the rubble, stirring quietly. His head ached, his shoulder was on fire and he let himself indulge in a few deserved swears before he tried to turn over.

A groan ripped itself from Hunk’s throat as he curled to his side, the burning in his shoulder stealing the breath from his chest.

He was so thankful for his shield right now.

He let his eyes wander the wrecked area, a frustrated huff leaving him when he could find no sign of the hitman who’d been after Pidge.

Looks like he succeeded in scaring the guy off. At least he wouldn’t be sniping anyone for a while. Not with a blaster injury to the face.

A relieved sigh lifted his chest and he flopped back to the ground, eyes closing. He protected his family.

He protected Pidge.

Footsteps caught his attention and he cracked his eyes open hopefully. That was kinda quick but he knew he could count on his friends.

However, the figures coming to loom over him were nothing like the space family he had come to love. “Who are you?” He wheezed, trying to put as much strength and intimidation into his voice as he could.

“Somehow he’s still awake.” One of the hooded figures smirked, “The Paladins are strong indeed.”

“Put him out.” The clear leader snapped, “We don’t want him contacting the others.”

“Where are we going to keep him? Lady Haggar is too far away.” Another queried.

“We’ll find a place. But our Lady wants the full set. She will be patient.”

A zap filled Hunk’s ears and the world dissolved to black again.

~~~~

The phone behind the bar rang shrilly and the bartender excused himself, looking out over the steadily filling bar with sharp eyes. He snagged the phone with one hand, pressing it to his ear as his other hands worked soundlessly at the bottles behind the counter.

“The Lion’s Den. Speak to me.”

“I locked onto Yellow.” A strongly accented voice answered through the line, “You only need to keep it up a little longer.”

“He didn’t have the information we thought.” The bartender replied, throat tight.

“So I heard.”

The noise in the bar swelled for a moment as the six at the bar engaged in yet another argument about Korvar’s story, their injuries drawing the eye.

“How much longer, Coran?”

“Soon, Pidge, soon.”

A harsh sigh lifted the bartender’s chest, the disguise flickering at the edges before he settled himself, focusing on the image of the four armed reptilian man when everything in them wanted to be the small Green Paladin.

“We’re gonna get them back.”


	2. Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amaladis tells the tale of the Red Paladin and the planet of Guirguis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm back!   
> I got a bit caught up with my project for Lance Week but I finally got a good dose of inspiration for this chapter so I sat down today and banged this out.  
> I love writing Keith. He has such an interesting way of looking at things!  
> Enjoy!

In the darkness of the bar, Amaladis sat on the outskirts of the injured six, holding his mangled hand close to his chest, the twinge of his other wounds urging him to speak out.

But without the hive mind behind him, it was difficult. Difficult to tell the story. Difficult to answer the questions.

Damn that Red Paladin.

The bartender’s sharp eyes focused on him and Amaladis suppressed a shudder under that scrutinizing glare. It was familiar and yet not, a yawning void of information and context missing from the familiar back of Amaladis’ mind.

“What about you? You’ve been awfully quiet.” The bartender said blithely, almost bored as he bustled along behind the bar, effortlessly keeping up with the increase in traffic, all while serving as the impromptu judge of their contest.

“My story is not as interesting as that of Korvar.” Amaladis began, looking out from beneath his hood, almost shying away from the thin man’s hungry eyes.

That was the look of a man who saw others as nothing more than toys to be played with, one who gazed upon others and only thought of the entertainment they might bring him. “Surely it’s still a tale worth telling.” The thin man grinned, those sharp, dark eyes making Amaladis cringe, “Besides, we can’t have a proper contest without all the information.”

The others nodded at his smooth words, a blatantly superior look already adorning Korvar’s face. He clearly thought that his story was the best, a tale that could not begin to be overtaken.

An unfamiliar emotion pushed Amaladis forward and he straightened, this newfound pride giving him the courage to speak, to tell the tale of the Paladin that had destroyed his entire world and everything he had ever known.

“I can fulfill that request.” Amaladis began, suppressing his anxiety as the eyes of the bar turned to him, including the calculating eyes of the bartender.

He knew those eyes from somewhere.

“Which Paladin messed you up?” The furry eared man prompted, sparkling green eyes gleaming in the darkness of the bar.

“Red.” Amaladis spat, wounds twinging at even the thought of the fiery paladin, “I am one of a dying race, a group of telepaths that once shared a hive mind on the planet of Guirguis. We were known throughout the system as a great place of information. If you sought something lost, the telepaths of Guirguis would be able to help you.”

The bartender’s stare never wavered and Amaladis pulled his eyes away, unable to bear the stern gaze. “The mighty Lions landed upon our planet and we sensed a great mind, one that could handle the strain of maintaining the Hive. We sought them out.”

~~~~

Keith looked out over the infinite cosmos of space, the silence of the observation deck seeming to seep into his bones. It wasn’t right for the castle to be this quiet. There was always something going on, some prank between the Garrison Trio or just Lance being himself, bringing life and color where ever he decided to hang around that particular day.

Ever since the disaster of a trip to Yermatil, the Castle had never been quieter. Pidge threw herself in trying to find Hunk and Lance…

Lance just seemed to wilt.

Hunk’s absence hurt them all and Keith found himself craving the Yellow Paladin’s easy company far more than he could have ever expected. He wasn’t used to having _people_ and now one of the few that he had was gone.

Vanished. No trace of him.

All they had to go on was Pidge’s information about her assassin and the knowledge that Hunk had gone off to intercept him. Keith wanted to keep faith that Hunk was still out there, still alive and kicking.

But his pragmatism chose that moment to rear its ugly head. Hunk had known what he was doing. He was facing down with an assassin with enough skill to nearly snipe Pidge from across a busy market _without_ collateral damage.

They had seen the building. They had combed the rubble until their hands bled but there was no sign of the Yellow Paladin. Just a bit of blood on some rocks and a pile of stone so heavy that they would never be able to lift it.

It wasn’t likely that Hunk survived but Lance and Pidge were resolute.

They combed every inch of that square, to the point of exhaustion. They claimed they saw footprints, deep prints in the rubble. It was enough to give them hope but Keith needed more.

It was hard without Hunk.

A shift of movement caught his attention and he looked up when Lance shifted, the Red Paladin not moving from his self-appointed sentinel duty. Green and Blue had thrown themselves into looking for the Yellow Paladin, chasing every lead between fending off opportunistic Galra and their own bodily needs.

Keith knew they weren’t eating. They were barely sleeping. He did what he could to sneak food into their base of operations but he couldn’t make them eat. Shiro had tried but it had only ended in a sobbing Pidge and near screaming match between Lance and Shiro.

They couldn’t be reasoned with. Especially when Pidge had become convinced that it was her fault.

Hunk had gone off to protect her, she’d said.

Keith could understand her guilt and grief. He had entirely too much experience with the people in his life disappearing.

It hurt to see his _people_ like this. Especially after how well things had been going between him and Lance. He loved the Blue Paladin but he didn’t know how to offer comfort right now. He didn’t know how to be what Lance needed.

So he stayed quiet and out of the way, silently watching over Lance and Pidge, trying when he could to help them take care of themselves.

His vigil continued, still and unobtrusive, listening to the hushed whispered between Lance and Pidge as they followed yet another lead, yet another group that may have designs on a Voltron Paladin.

Keith jumped badly when Pidge let out a screech of triumph, ripping off the headphones that had been draped around her neck to tackle a beaming Lance. “I have the name, Lance!”

“You found it?!”

“Korvar. Korvar the Unyielding.” Pidge spat, “He was contracted to kill me by that trader we crashed a few months ago. If anyone knows anything about Hunk, it would be him!”

Lance nodded along with her statement and Keith had to suppress a curl of relief at the more normal behavior from the two Paladins in front of him. “So where to next, Pidge?”

She hummed in consideration for a moment, turning her bespectacled eyes to the screen in front of her. “There’s a planet in this system. It’s called Guirguis. Its people are telepaths, of a sort. They’re information brokers. We may be able to figure out where Korvar is. Or maybe even a direct path to Hunk. But definitely a stop by Korvar to stomp him into the ground.”

“Is it safe?” Keith interjected at last, needing to introduce at least a hair of reality into their planning.

“Don’t know. Don’t care.” Lance said flippantly, gathering up stuff around him, “We’re gonna find Hunk. No matter what it takes.”

“They could be working with the Galra. We won’t be helping anyone if we all get captured.” Keith replied hotly, trying to get Lance to see reason.

“Then stay behind.” Lance snapped, his eyes slightly desperate, “But my best friend is out there and I’m gonna find him. I know you don’t care but I do.”

“Don’t assume what I do or don’t care about, cargo pilot.” Keith hissed, a sick feeling settling in his stomach when Lance’s expression hardened.

“Do what you want, Keith.” Lance breathed, pushing past him, a wide-eyed Pidge watching the whole exchange, “Just don’t get in our way.”

Keith watched him walk away for a moment, the uneasy illness in his gut only intensifying the further Lance moved away. “I’ll go with you.”

That caught the attention of both of them, the hopeful glint in Pidge’s eyes only cementing his resolve. He’d never really had siblings before but Pidge was probably the closest he’d ever gotten to a little sister. He’d dive right into a squadron of Galra troops unarmed if she needed him.

He was coming to think of all of the paladins as family.

Lance, on the other hand, only regarded him coldly, his blue eyes like chips of ice. “I just said, do what you want, Keith. I stand by that.”

Keith’s heart sank as Lance continued down the hallway, the line of his back so tense that Keith worried he’d snap. He knew Hunk and Lance were close but he’d never seen Lance just dive into something.

He was known for planning. Jumping into a situation blind was something Keith would do, loathe as he was to admit it.

And it worried him that Lance was doing it. Someone was going to get hurt.

The line of Lance thinking was interrupted when Pidge threw her arms around his torso, pressing her forehead into his sternum. “Thank you, Keith. I know Lance might not show it right now, but he’ll appreciate this. Lance and I aren’t…really the best when it comes to combat and I don’t want to lose any more of you.”

“It’ll be okay, Pidge.” Keith tried, the platitude feeling strange on his tongue, “We’ll go down to this Guirguis and find the information we need to get Hunk back. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Just don’t do anything stupid, Keith.” Pidge growled, red rimmed eyes looking up at him intently.

“I think Lance has that covered for both of us right now.” Keith hummed, “It isn’t like him to just charge into stuff.”

“Hunk means a lot to him.” Pidge sighed, “He means a lot to me too but Hunk and Lance have been friends since they were little kids. Lance isn’t one to sit idly by when someone he cares about is in danger.”

“Yeah.” Keith breathed, letting Pidge take a step back and meeting her sharp hazel eyes.

“Even if you don’t think so, you’ve done a lot for us since Hunk disappeared.” Pidge said bluntly, “I know we’ve been worrying everyone else and I feel really bad about how things went down with Shiro but you keeping watch over us helped.”

Keith could feel the flush building in his cheeks and he coughed awkwardly, crossing his arms over his chest. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

“Either way. Thanks.”

He inclined his head, watching silently as Pidge followed after Lance, more life and vitality in her movements than he had seen in the time since Hunk had gone missing. He stood for a moment longer before turning to where he felt a presence behind him, completely unsurprised to see Shiro frowning behind him.

“This is dangerous, Keith.” Shiro said tightly, the emotions he had felt at Hunk’s disappearance finally making themselves known as hope was dangled in front of him, “We should all be going.”

“It could still be a trap.” Keith offered, turning so that his back was to the wall, gaze locked on Shiro’s guilt ridden form, “You couldn’t have done anything to prevent what happened. None of us could.”

“I should never have let us split up in that market.”

“There was no reason for us to have been suspicious. We didn’t know that trader from before had that kind of pull. Sure, he was a Zarkon lackey but he’d been poorly protected.” Keith argued, “If he had a contract with an intergalactic hitman, there wasn’t any sign of it.”

Shiro only sighed wearily, looking down the hallways with a regret that made Keith’s chest ache. “We will get him back. This will work. I’ll make sure of it.”

“I should go with you.”

“Someone should be here in case things go south.” Keith responded, a little shocked at his own level-headedness, “We don’t know anything about this planet. If we’re all down there and something goes wrong, we’ll be sitting ducks. I’d feel better if you were up here, ready to pull us out and get the hell out of dodge.”

The noise Shiro made only served to pull Keith’s guilt to the surface all over again. “I don’t want to split up again.” Shiro relented, “But there is some thought in your plan. I’m proud of you.”

“Someone had to be levelheaded right now and since…since Lance can’t be the plan guy, I guess I need to step up.” Keith admitted, looking to Shiro plaintively, “He’s worrying me a bit.”

“They’re both worrying me. Pidge can get dangerously obsessive and Lance is too emotional at the moment. He’s looking for anything he can to get Hunk back.”

Keith only gripped at his arms, willing himself not to feel envious of the level of devotion Lance gave to Hunk. “I know.”

“Look out for them, Keith.” Shiro said seriously, voice carrying all the solemnity and power of an order, “Keep them safe.”

The old urge to snap to attention pulled at his spine but he resisted, only inclining his head to Shiro and walking down the hallway after the Green and Blue Paladins.

He found them waiting for him in the hangar, already outfitted in their paladin armor, weary faces nearly gleaming as they let the joy of new hope buoy them.

Keith only hoped that Guirguis wouldn’t let them down.

Without wasting a moment, he changed and strode to Red’s maw, letting her fiery purr roll over his consciousness, her certainty and stubbornness fueling his own.

He _would_ keep them safe.

The others ran to their lions, following his lead out of the hangar and through the vast expanse of space. Once they were far enough away from the Castle, Pidge blasted forward, the Green Lion clearly headed towards a greyish-blue planet on the edge of the system.

Keith followed after her without hesitation, resolute on his imposed duty. He flanked Green and Blue, making sure that they were protected, even as they broke through the atmosphere. When at last they touched down, an entire crowd of locals had gathered, their hooded heads all turned unerringly towards the Green Lion.

“Be on your guard.” Keith hissed through the coms, the lack of a snarky retort from the Blue Paladin only further twisting his guts into knots.

The gathering pulled at his instincts, making him feel even more anxious and uneasy than he had upon leaving the castle.

Something was about to go very wrong.

~~~~

“The Lions were beyond everything that we had ever been told.” Amaladis waxed, non-mangled hand gesturing widely, “They were enormous, the craftsmanship without compare. They were true weapons and only a precursor to the terrifying power that was Voltron. The power of five minds in one is not to be looked down upon.”

“Did you actually see Voltron?” Korvar snorted, “From what I’ve heard, it’s impossible for that damn robot to form if they’re missing one. I don’t know why Zarkon hasn’t just offed one of the Paladins to keep it away.”

“I saw the form of Voltron in the great mind that came to my planet of Guirguis.” Amaladis said stiffly, “It was not something that I needed to see in person to understand its majesty.”

“I think you’re getting off track a bit.” The bartender sighed, his voice already irritated, “You were talking about what happened after the Lions landed, not waxing poetic over this supposed Legendary Defender.”

Amaladis blinked at the direction, nodding without complaint. “Yes. When the Lions landed on Guirguis, we gathered to meet them. Blue and Green were eager to utilize us for our informational powers but Red was suspicious. It made the quest to harvest Green’s mind difficult.”

~~~~

The locals all looked completely awe-struck as the Lions touched down, the three of them still an impressive show of force. They were not the strangest set of locals that Keith had ever seen but there was something distinctly off about them. It was like watching a group of puppets, all the players moving the same way at the whim of the puppeteer.

“What do we actually know about these people?” Keith huffed, Pidge’s screen appearing on his control panel.

“They’re telepaths. And their planet is an informational hub.” Pidge explained, already moving to disembark from the Green Lion, “I think they might have a sort of hive mind? What one person knows, all of them do. It cuts down on a lot of lost time in transmitting information.”

“A hive mind?”

“They all share a brain, mullet.” Lance spat, the ice in his voice cutting at Keith more than he’d like.

“I know what a hive mind is, Lance.” Keith growled, unable to keep his temper from responding to Lance’s barbed comments.

“Yes, it’s a hive mind.” Pidge snapped, “Both of you stop. We’re here for a reason. If you want to do your knock-down drag out fight, wait until we get back to the Castle.”

Lance only muted himself in the coms, the Blue Lion’s mouth opening. Keith gave Pidge an apologetic look, preparing himself to face off with the locals. “I’m sorry, Pidge.”

“It’s okay, Keith. I know that it’s not something either of you are actively trying to do.” Pidge sighed, “You too actually make a fantastic team when you’re getting along.”

“I thought we were actually getting somewhere.” Keith said bitterly, making sure his bayard was safely ensconced in the subspace pocket on his leg.

“I did too.” Pidge replied, a tone of regret in her voice, “If it makes you feel better, Hunk and I have really been rooting for you.”

He threw an incredulous look to his control panel just as Pidge’s link disappeared, a bit of the tension in his chest lightening just slightly. They…were rooting for him?

Keith really didn’t have a lot of experience with that. Sure, Shiro was in his corner but that was more in terms of flying and fighting. Were Hunk and Pidge rooting for him with Lance?

Feeling better, he made his way out of Red’s mouth, coming up to flank the Green and Blue Paladins, his concentration lapsed for a moment as he mulled over Pidge’s words.

He didn’t pay as much attention to the encroaching locals as he normally would.

“Greetings.” One of the locals crowed, gliding forward out of the homogenous crowd, “Welcome to the planet of Guirguis. I’m sure you know but we are a great hub of information. If you seek something lost, we may help you.”

“Yes.” Pidge said intently, stepping forward, her short stature making the alien in front of her look far more intimidating, “We are the Paladins of Voltron and we are seeking something lost.”

The local inclined his head, a predatory look in his eyes as he gazed down at the smallest Paladin. It was this look that pulled Keith from his thoughts, a shard of ice sliding down his spine. He stepped forward to stand in line with Lance, hand hovering off the concealed pocket on his leg.

Pushing past the awkwardness of the locals, Pidge lifted her chin, staring down the local in front of her. “We are seeking information on the location of Korvar the Unyielding and any information that you might have on the Yellow Paladin.”

“You are missing a Paladin.” The local stated, a frown coming to their face, the frown reflected in the crowd behind them before a blank smile overtook it.

“We are.” Lance confirmed, a desperation in his face that was entirely too visible for Keith’s liking.

These aliens were in charge of the situation. They knew what the paladins wanted but Keith couldn’t even fathom what these locals could want. What was their price for information? Was it something that they would even be able to afford?

He didn’t want to think about what Lance and Pidge would be willing to do in return for information on Hunk. No.

He wouldn’t let it go that far.

“Is that all that you seek?” The local asked, the words practiced as if they had been spoken a million times.

“It is.” Pidge answered, Lance nodding along behind her.

The locals head swiveled to look at Keith intently and he frowned. “That is all the information we seek.”

“If you’re sure.” The local hummed, “We can sense a burning question in you, half-breed, but if you do not seek answers, we will acquiesce.”

Keith blinked in confusion for a moment before their words made sense, a hollow feeling in his chest as he realized his lost opportunity.

He could have asked about his mother.

Lance’s angry façade dropped for a moment and he could feel those blue eyes looking at him sadly, a bit of the frostiness between the dissipating.

“You can still ask.” The Blue Paladin whispered.

Keith only shook his head, clenching his fists once before setting his shoulders. “It’s too late. I made my decision. We don’t even know what they want for these answers.”

The local nodded slowly, a condescending smile on their face. “The one of Red is correct. Nothing is free after all.”

The other two paladins exchanged a look at that before setting their shoulders. “We are prepared.”

“If that is your wish, follow us. We will make the exchange within the grand chamber.”

Keith followed after the others, the particle barriers surrounding the three lions serving to make him feel only slightly better.

At least these locals wouldn’t be trying to steal their Lions.

~~~~

“Why didn’t you try for the Lions?” The furry eared woman groaned, “The Galra are offering a fortune for them!”

“We had no need for the Lions of Voltron.” Amaladis huffed, irritation coloring his voice with every interruption, “The base of our hive mind was old. We needed a strong mind to replace it. The Green Paladin was everything that we needed. The people of Guirguis had no interest in the politics between Zarkon and the Altean Princess. We existed in a neutral ground.”

“What kind of price would you ask for that sort of thing?” The bartender asked idly, “I mean clearly the exchange didn’t go according to plan if you’re sitting in my bar.”

“Finding a friend is simple. You give up something affiliated with them. Finding an enemy is a bit of blood.” Amaladis recounted, “And if the half-breed had asked about his mother, he’d need only give up a day.”

“Strange prices.” The veiled woman sniffed, swirling her glittery drink.

“The hive mind had very different ideas. We were peaceful people.”

“And yet you attacked the Paladins.” The bartender said bluntly, “Maybe you weren’t as peaceful as you thought.”

“We needed that new mind.” Amaladis snarled dangerously, eyes glowing from beneath his hood, the hive mind not there to draw his anger back into the mass of others, “I will not apologize for what we did.”

“There’s no need for apologies here, friend.” The thin man simpered, “We’ve all had encounters with these Paladins. And maybe they were the ones in the wrong.”

The bartender gave the thin man a dangerous look before turning his sharp eyes back to Amaladis. “Go on. We haven’t heard the whole story yet.”

~~~~

The way to the great chamber wasn’t long but Keith couldn’t help the uneasiness that drove him closer to his fellow paladins. Everything about this place was off-putting. Eyes watched as they passed and the crowd hemmed them in.

Escape wasn’t going to be possible at the moment.

He tried to catch Lance’s eye again but he and Pidge were intent, their faces fixed upon the enormous structure they marched upon.

Why did this huge crowd feel the need to escort them to this building and what was with the hyper fixation on Pidge? Every person they passed felt the need to stare at her, the same predatory look in their eyes as the very first local they spoke to.

Keith had the feeling that of all three of them, Pidge was in the most danger here. And like hell he was going to let anything happen to her.

Despite all the gains she’d made in her hand-to-hand combat, she was still small. She specialized in sneak attacks, guerilla warfare that protected her from extended confrontations. Most everything they fought was so much larger than her.

It worried Keith.

And right now, he wasn’t sure just how much help Lance would be.

Neither of them had been sleeping or eating right. If this came to a fight, they might drop far faster than they normally would.

Maybe if he could make sure that Lance stayed outside, they might be in a better situation. If Lance stayed outside, he’d have a chance to get to higher ground and put those sharpshooter skills to use.

If they all got trapped in that grand chamber, it would be harder to keep both of them safe.

And Keith had _promised._

As they climbed the steps to this grand chamber, Keith centered himself. He could do this. They would get the information they needed and get back to the Castle.

And then they’d go find Hunk.

He needed to be patient. He needed to be focused.

_Patience yields focus._

By the top of the flight, Lance and Pidge were out of breath, their previous neglect to their bodies draining their energy before his very eyes. The doors before them were enormous, huge slabs of metal and stone that stretched to the top of the columns that framed the stairs.

It was enough to look intimidating without being completely overdone. The walls were carved with intricate swirls and thick metal handles hung from the doors in front of them. Their guide stopped before the doors, turning to them solemnly, thickly draped hood disguising his face handily.

It was something else that Keith didn’t particularly like about this group of people. Every single person was hooded. You could only see their face if they allowed it. It made it difficult for him to feel out the situation.

He couldn’t see where they were looking, except for when they were giving Pidge that strange expression.

“Only two can continue from here.” The local said quietly, standing before the indomitable doors.

A prickle of unease continued to roll across Keith’s skin and he exchanged a look with Pidge, her eyebrows furrowing at the concern he knew was clear on his face. She met Lance’s eyes as well, his cerulean gaze almost pleading.

“I’ll go.” Pidge spoke up at last, “And I’m taking Keith with me.”

A genuinely outraged noise pulled itself from Lance’s throat and his fists balled at his side. “What the fuck, Pidge?!”

Pidge turned on a dime, grabbing the front of Lance’s chest plate to drag him down to her level, leaning in to whisper in his ear. His eyes widened as she spoke, those same eyes flicking to the side to meet Keith’s. At last, his shoulders slumped in defeat and he looked at Pidge dully, hurt clear in his face.

“I don’t like it, Pidge. Hunk is my best friend.” Lance said quietly, the slightest hint of unshed tears in his voice.

“I know.” Pidge replied, regret in her expression, the emotion pulling at Keith’s chest.

“We could turn our coms on?” Keith offered quietly, wanting desperately to wipe those looks off their faces.

These were his _people._ His _family._

He didn’t want them to look so torn, confused and regretful. It was part of the reason he’d come on this trip. Keith needed to look out for them. To protect them like he’d been unable to protect Hunk.

Lance gave him a grateful look, some of the hurt easing somewhat even as Pidge nodded at him, clicking a few buttons on the side of her helmet.

“Thanks.” Lance said honestly, clapping one hand on Keith shoulder, “And I’m sorry.”

Keith let his hand rest atop Lance’s, nodding shortly. “We can talk about it when we get back to the Castle.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

A relieved sigh came from Pidge and she looked to Keith intently. “Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

~~~~

“The Paladins had been so trusting up to that point. Despite the suspicion of the Red, they still followed us into the Great Chamber.” Amaladis recounted, a bit of smugness coming into his voice, “They’d left the Blue one outside…”

“A mistake.” The furry eared man said regretfully, his tapered ears flicking.

“Red and Green continued inside.” Amaladis continued, ignoring the man and his sister, their gazes upon him intent, “They were right where we wanted them. We simply hadn’t accounted for the bonds between them.”

“Bonds?” Korvar snorted, “What could that do with anything?”

“What drove the Yellow Paladin to pursue you? What drove him to protect Green?” Amaladis explained, meeting the narrowed eyes of the bartender, “In hindsight, we were fools to assume that we would be able to take Green with Red and Blue there.”

~~~~

Keith followed Pidge through the entrance, the imposing doors only opening wide enough to admit the two of them before slamming shut, Lance firmly kept on the outside.

It was good to know that Lance had a better chance to get to an environment more suited to his weapon but it did make him a little antsy. These people had purposefully split them up.

They hadn’t protested the way they’d been split which either meant that they thought that they’d be able to take them in smaller numbers or they were underestimating them.

Especially Keith himself.

He knew he was smaller than the other guys in Voltron, just barely shorter than Lance, but it frequently made others deem him as weaker. He’d used it to his advantage before and he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.

Let them think him weak.

It would come back to _burn_ them.

Even a small fire was dangerous.

Their guide had stayed behind with Lance and the rest of the crowd, a new Guirguisian meeting them beyond the doors. They looked different from the others, a curved sword belted at their waist and more form-fitting clothes adorning their body.

This was a guard, someone used to protecting others no matter the cost. “Do you have a name?” He asked shortly, addressing the guard before them.

“This one is called Amaladis.” The guard responded, searing yellow eyes glaring at him from beneath his hood, “But all share the same thoughts, the same mind. It is from this mind that you came to question.”

~~~~

“You were a guard?” The veiled woman hummed, “I fear you might be the most noble of us, dear.”

“I had been born to guard the great hive.” Amaladis responded stiffly, “And I cut down all its enemies, save for the Red Paladin. That has been my greatest defeat.”

“How long had you been a guard?” The furry eared female asked blithely, a true interest in her eyes at last.

“This body has lived for the better part of three centuries.”

“Three centuries of guarding and you lose to a half-breed whelp?” Korvar chortled, “Must be a pretty cushy job.”

“That half-breed was more than a whelp.” Amaladis snarled, “He was half-Galra.”

~~~~

Pidge looked at him curiously as they followed Amaladis into an enormous room, a deep glowing indention in the center of the floor. “Why a name?”

“More information?” Keith shrugged, “Plus, they’re the only one I’ve seen who was overtly armed. Whatever we’re coming to see is important.”

In front of them, Amaladis inclined their head. “He of the Red is correct. The people of the village have brought you to speak to the Hive itself. You are greatly honored.”

“We only wanted information on our friend.” Pidge said slowly, “Is that really an occasion to bring us to the hub of your entire race?”

“That is where you are wrong, She of the Green.” Amaladis grinned, their teeth needle sharp in the light from the indention, “You were not brought here for your information. You were brought here to serve.”

Immediately leaping into action, Keith called his bayard to his hand, pushing in front of Pidge.

“ _Guys, what’s going on in there?! All the locals just started baring some really sharp teeth. What did you do?!”_

Lance’s panicked words made Keith’s chest tighten and he wrapped his hand around the handle of his bayard so hard that the metal creaked.

“Pidge, you need to get out of here.” He said sternly, “Get on the coms with the Castle.”

“She of Green will not be leaving.” Amaladis commanded, their voice layered with thousands of others, “She will become the base of the new Hive. A strong mind to bear the strain.”

“ _I never thought I would ever say this but…Pidge’s genius has literally gotten us into trouble.”_

“Lance, now is not the time.” Keith barked, the form of Pidge behind him tense and angry.

He could feel rage rolling off her in waves. It was off-putting to say the least.

He’d never seen Pidge really and truly angry. A part of him didn’t want to turn around.

“Are you fucking kidding me.” She hissed, her voice carrying through the egg-shaped room.

“There is no jest, She of Green.”

“I only came here to find my friend.” She growled, the tone of her voice dangerous, “And I’m not leaving until I get the information you promised me!”

“If you become the Hive, all the universe of the world will be at your fingers. You would easily be able to find your friend.” Amaladis coaxed, “We need you more. The Hive needs your mind.”

“No!” Keith roared, his voice ricocheting off the walls.

A loud grumble came from the center indention, thick tendrils creeping up over the side of enclosure. “This is not your choice, He of Red.”

“Like hell!” Keith raged, “She’s my family and I’m not going to let you have her!”

A choked off noise greeted him from behind and over the coms, Pidge’s stance wobbling even as her own bayard hummed into life.

“ _I take it we need to get the hell out of here.”_

“Call Shiro. He’s on standby at the Castle, just in case.”

_“On it.”_

Pidge made a sound of frustration, darting from behind Keith so that she could stand at his side. “Stop trying to protect me! I can protect myself!”

“I know you can.” Keith said tightly, “But you’ve not been sleeping. You haven’t been eating. You aren’t at your best right now.”

“I’m enough to kick some ass.”

Blaster fire echoed from outside the wide imposing doors and Keith looked to the still figure of the Hive’s guard. “Either you let us go with the information we came for or we’ll wreck everything.”

“The Hive before everything. And the Hive needs her.” Amaladis repeated, drawing the wickedly curved sword belted at their waist.

“Suit yourself.”

~~~~

“The Red Paladin fought like one possessed. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. His tenacity was monstrous and the strength in his small frame…It was like trying to take on a full battalion of soldiers.” Amaladis shuddered, their gleaming eyes haunted even as they held their mangled arm close to their chest.

“A half-Galra paladin, huh.” Korvar hummed, “That’s a tad ironic if you think about it.”

“How so?” The bartender grumbled, cleaning yet another glass.

“He’s working to take down something that his people have worked for over the last ten thousand years. If anything, he should be fighting for Zarkon.”

“No one willingly fights for Zarkon.” The furry eared woman spat, “We all try to exist despite him.”

“Be careful with your words, waif.” The veiled woman hissed, “The druids have ears everywhere. You could find yourself a guest in one of their compounds.”

Amaladis could only watch the bartenders eyes narrow, a fury in them that knew no end.

It was familiar beyond words.

~~~~

Keith surged forward as the guard took his stance, wasting no time in trying to take down the obstacle in his way. He danced out of the way of Amaladis’ first strike, the move telegraphed and easy to avoid.

It was nothing like fighting the gladiator.

This guard was almost child’s play, to be honest.

The Red bayard darted out again and again, wounding the guard in front of him. Keith followed after them when they began to retreat, all the while never stopping, never taking a break in the waterfall of blows he rained upon the only person in the room.

Or at least that’s what he thought.

It wasn’t until Pidge yelped that he let his intensity falter, one of the glowing vines wrapped around her ankle and dragging her ever closer to the indention in the center of the room.

He darted away from his wounded opponent and slashed at the tendril, severing it and freeing Pidge. She glared up at him for a moment before her eyes widened. He turned but only just in time to receive a sharp blow to the side, Amaladis’ curved blade sliding through his flight suit without any resistance.

~~~~

The crowd looked at Amaladis in awe for a moment, their expressions rousing a sense of pride once more. “You actually hit him?” One of the creatures in the shadowed corner gasped, their clawed hands clicking against the table, “The Red Paladin?”

“You’ve heard of him?” The bartender called, reptilian eyes curious.

“Who hasn’t? He’s vicious.” The small creature shuddered, “I’ve seen him and that Lion of his tear through entire fleets. My people wanted to revere him as a god of warfare.”

“A god?” Korvar sighed, “What kind of god bleeds?”

“It didn’t stop him.” Amaladis said quietly, “A wound like the one he took would have dropped many men but it only served to make him angrier. A god of warfare, indeed.”

~~~~

“Keith.” Pidge gasped, her golden eyes wide and frightened, “You’re hurt.”

He pushed through it, turning to the guard who had wounded him and pressed a hand to where the blood cascaded down his side. “Get out of here, Pidge.”

“I’m not leaving!”

He snarled darkly, throwing her a stern look. “I promised Shiro that I wouldn’t let anything happen to either of you. And I’m going to keep that promise. I’m going to protect my family!”

“You won’t be able to protect anything if you bleed out in here!” Pidge screeched, “Let me help you!”

Keith huffed out a breath, his violet gaze intent on the guard who backed away from him, emotion crossing their face for the first time since they’d come into this room. “I’ll keep them busy. Go do something about that hive mind thing. Get your information.”

“I have no idea how to do that, Keith.” Pidge groaned, gripping her bayard tightly, “Just let me help you. Then we can figure it out.”

With a sigh, Keith nodded, a sharp grin coming to his face. “Go loose, Pidge.” He smirked, the paladin beside him returning it.

She clasped his hand and let him hurl her across the room, easily cutting the distance between them and the guard. She let her hook unravel slightly, turning in the air so that momentum built up. Just before she collided with them, she let her hook catch under one arm, the electricity and momentum serving to throw the guard into the side of the indention.

She crashed into the ground after that, rolling across the polished floor before popping her head up, a triumphant grin on her face.

“Show off.” Keith called, the comment only making her smile wider.

“I’ve been wanting to try that forever. I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to throw me hard enough.”

~~~~

“You’re bluffing.” Korvar laughed, “That little paladin couldn’t have done anything. He was a shrimp.”

“Perhaps alone, but with the Red Paladin, the Green Paladin definitely did participate. Their weapon was one that immobilized my body. I couldn’t even move as they approached the great Hive.”

“Your greatest defeat indeed.” The veiled woman sighed, “Unable to protect your greatest asset from children.”

“These were no mere children.” Amaladis spat, “These were warriors in their own right.”

~~~~

His side ached, the skin rapidly numbing in a way that slightly worried Keith but not enough to make him rush Pidge. She crept closer to the tendril he had severed, reaching out to it with a wary hand.

“Do you have an idea?” He asked tiredly, looking up from where he had filled Lance in on what had happened.

_“I’m gonna be pretty useless when I can’t see the room, Mullet.”_

“Not you. Pidge.”

“I have something that I think might work.” Pidge hummed, picking up the dim tendril that Keith had severed, “If I connect with this Hive like I did with the Olkari machines, I might be able to get what we need.”

“ _Pidge that sounds like a really terrible idea. Didn’t these things want to assimilate your brain into that Hive?”_

“Lance is right. It’s too dangerous.”

“I’m the only one who has experience with this.” Pidge huffed, “Besides, you’re here to pull me back if it goes too far.”

“I don’t like this.”

“Neither do I. I don’t exactly like the idea of connecting to a hive mind but hey, we’re all doing things we don’t like today.”

Keith rolled his eyes at Pidge’s sass, frowning deeply as she pressed the severed edge of the vine to her forehead.

“Stay alert, Lance. We might have to book it if this goes downhill.”

“ _Like more downhill than right now? Because I am still picking off angry locals here.”_

“You’re killing them?”

“ _No! What kind of monster do you think I am? But you can’t climb five hundred damn stairs if your leg isn’t cooperating. I’m not trying to hurt them but…Keith, there are a lot of these people trying to get up here. Whatever you two are doing, do it fast. I want Hunk back but we’re not going anywhere if these people get up the stairs.”_

Keith frowned at Lance’s logic, a part of him relieved that he was coming back to his normal self. He was right. If they got trapped in here with the full force of the locals coming down on them, he wasn’t sure if they’d be able to get out…even with Shiro’s help.

He wished they’d planned this better. There were so many risks, all for information that was more and more seeming too good to be true.

Letting his gaze return to Pidge, he watched as her eyes flash open, a brilliant glowing green coming to overtake the whole of her eye. Her lips moved quickly, the words too quick for even Keith to read but he did see one particular word repeated over and over.

Voltron.

She continued to babble silently, her hands falling to her sides even as her head began to loll. Every second that passed made fear grow in Keith’s chest.

He shouldn’t have let her do this. He should have volunteered to make the weird brain connection.

It wasn’t his brain this thing was after.

Red dripped from one of her nostrils and Keith couldn’t help but act, his bayard slashing out to sever the tendril once more. Pidge gasped loudly, her eyes rolling up in her head just as footsteps started to pound from the hallway beyond.

Lance skidded into the room, his cerulean eyes going wide at the scene before him. “What happened?”

“I think she lost control of the connection.” Keith panicked, Pidge starting to seize under his hands, “Take her!”

Moving to follow his words, Lance looked to his desperately, “We’re out of time, Keith. The locals are swarming the stairs. We aren’t going to be able to get down.”

“You have to. Look at her! We should never have let her do that!”

“You and I both know that we don’t let Pidge do anything.” Lance breathed, doing his best to gather the shaking Pidge into his arms, turning to the doors, “Aren’t you coming with us?”

“I’m going to take care of something first. I might be able to give you a way to get back to the Lions or at least give you enough time for Shiro to get here.”

“Keith, now isn’t the time to be a fucking hero!” Lance snapped, his gaze darting between the shaking girl in his arms and the Red Paladin.

“I’m not being a hero. I’m keeping my promise!” Keith growled, moving to his feet at the edge of the deep indention, “Just go. You don’t have time! Pidge needs to get back to the castle.”

“I’ll come back for you, Keith.”

~~~~

“Damn.” The bartender whistled, “Bout got their brain sucked up by a hive mind.”

“Had it not been for the Red Paladin and his attention, the Hive would have assimilated her. It was sad for her to think that her mind would be able to face down the multitude.” Amaladis retorted.

“What were you doing during all this?” The thin man hummed, his eyes flicking to the bartender once more, that same hungry look in his eyes.

“Gathering my wits and letting the small one’s electricity be purged from my body.” Amaladis grumbled, “But I wouldn’t let things continue…”

~~~~

Lance’s footsteps died away as he ran for the door, Pidge clutched desperately in his arms. Once he was sure that Lance was gone, Keith turned back to the indention, peering over the edge to see a gnarled mass of tendrils and a pulsating brain at the bottom of the well.

This _thing_ had tried to steal Pidge’s mind way, tried to reduce her to an empty shell, one part of a hive mind on a planet millions of light years away from her home.

Keith wouldn’t let that happen. She had people waiting for her and she had her father and brother still to find. He had promised Shiro but most of all, he had promised himself.

He’d protect her.

Even if that meant killing the hive mind of an entire planet.

He readied himself to leap into the Hive’s pit when the scrape of a blade against the floor caught his attention. Keith rolled backwards, barely evading the thick curved blade as it sliced through the area where his head had once sat.

“You will pay for this, Paladin!” The guard roared, eyes glowing an unholy yellow, “None of you will leave this planet alive.”

Keith grimaced as the swift movement pulled on the wound in his side and he regarded the guard in front of him with contempt. “I don’t think so.”

Amaladis roared and charged upon him, the previous grace to their movements abandoned in the face of their own rage. Keith hardly had to dodge to evade the wild slashes, violet eyes narrowed in concentration.

~~~~

“It was like trying to fight the wind.” Amaladis shivered, “Nothing I did could touch him. No attack came close. And when he finally attacked, he was wildfire. Powerful and consuming.”

“I never stood a chance.”

~~~~

The pain in his side was distracting, the ache and blood loss making him slow and sloppy. He was tired.

But he pushed forward, a roar on his lips and his bayard flashing in the dim light of the Hive. The blade danced along Amaladis’ arm, coming close to cutting off the appendage entirely.

The Guirguisian before him screamed, falling to the side and clutching their mangled arm to their chest. The wickedly curved blade fell to the floor between them and Keith only let himself breathe for a moment before he ran for the indention, flinging himself into the pit with a single-minded determination.

Kill the Hive.

Save Lance and Pidge.

~~~~

“I’d never felt pain like that in my life.” Amaladis sighed, “It was only luck and the knowledge I gleaned from the Hive that saved my arm.”

Korvar and the others stared at him incredulously, looking to the mangled appendage with pale faces. “He didn’t hold back.” The veiled woman hummed, an interest in her eyes that made Amaladis nervous, “He’d be a useful guard and an even better sword. That princess trained her dogs well.”

The siblings at the other table rubbed at their chests, the white scar tissue stretching up over their throats even as the thin man grinned broadly. “He’d be a perfect gladiator. A shame he wasn’t around when I met with Voltron.”

The bartender glared once more before turning their gaze back to the glass in their hands.

Amaladis knew that he had seen those eyes before.

_But where?_

~~~~

Tendrils tried to snatch him out of the air but Keith cut them down with impunity, eyes dark in the light from the Hive.

He angled his blade down as he fell, the red bayard impaling the very center of the Hive. The light beneath his feet stuttered, pulsing once. Twice.

And then a scream emitted from the brain beneath his feet, a twofold scream that was shared by every person on the planet of Guirguis. As it was, the scream ripped through Keith’s mind, ripping at the very fabric of his person.

Blood ran in rivulets from his nose and he twisted the blade roughly, the scream cutting off abruptly.

He sagged in relief, falling to his knees, the hilt of his bayard the only thing keeping him from falling completely.

The Hive was no more.

Pidge was safe.

~~~~

“What happened after he killed the Hive?” The female sibling hissed, “Psychic backlash of that kind should have killed all of you. How did you survive?”

Amaladis could only shrug, unable to answer the same question that had plagued him since he had awoken. “I don’t know what happened to the Red Paladin after he killed the Hive. All my people fell unconscious. Some of us woke. But the vaster majority continue to sleep, unable to function without the Hive.”

“He single handedly destroyed your race.” The veiled woman nodded, “A dangerous Paladin indeed.”

“Couldn’t have been that hard if all he needed to do was stab a brain.” Korvar scoffed, “Yellow could still take him. Easy.”

“He’s probably dead.” Amaladis offered at last, “When I awoke, our great chamber was naught but rubble. There was evidence of a great explosion. Lightning seemed to streak the walls and there were great gouges in the stone. It was as if the gods themselves had deigned to strike the Red Paladin down for his impudence.”

“Lightning?” The bartender questioned, lifting an incredulous brow, “What kind of explosion utilizes lightning?”

“Clearly a godly one.” The veiled woman said coolly, a hint of amusement in her covered face.

~~~~

The screams from outside tapered off slowly leaving nothing but an eerie silence, a residual light beneath his feet barely illuminating the well he stood in.

With great effort, Keith pulled himself back to his feet, pulling his bayard from the brain under his boots, letting it revert to its original form and gripping it tightly.

He didn’t really think this one through too well. There wasn’t a way out of this well other than climbing and he was in no shape to do that.

Keith squinted at the top of the well, a rough breath lifting his chest before he saw the circle of masks peering down at him from the darkness of the room above.

He knew those masks. He’d never be able to forget them.

Druids.

“Lance, I don’t know if you can still hear me, but there are druids here.” Keith whispered, “Don’t come back.”

_“Don’t be ridiculous, Keith. I’m coming back for you no matter what._ ”

“And we found another one.” A druid purred, their voice echoing strangely off their masks.

“This is the half-breed. He’ll be able to put up a fight.” Another warned.

“It isn’t anything that we can’t handle.”

The lightning of druidic quintessence crackled around their hands and Keith activated his bayard once more, jumping for the side of the well before engaging his jetpack.

His side screamed at the movement and his head swam with every leap, blasts of quintessence barely missing him.

The red bayard caught the shoulder of one druid as he flipped his way out of the well, a cry pulled from their throat as he pulled them to the ground with him.

_“Keith, we’re on our way._ ”

Keith’s heart sank as the druids advanced on him, many more of them in the room than he had anticipated.

He wasn’t going to make it out of this.

“Lance, don’t! Just take care of the others!”

“ _Mullet, we are almost there! Don’t do this!”_

“Sorry, Lance.” Keith chuckled, the druids drawing closer from all side, “It’s been an honor flying with you. I…think I-“

A burst of druidic quintessence met his back and he buckled, a yell pulling itself from his throat as clawed hands reached for him. Colors swam before his eyes and he faded out, content. More lightning flashed in the background, the sound of falling stone accompanying him into unconsciousness.

He’d kept his promise.

_“Keith!!”_

~~~~

“So we’ve heard the tale of the Yellow Paladin and the Red Paladin.” The veiled woman sniffed, “From the way you tell it, they were both quite formidable foes.”

“But each of us saw fewer and fewer Paladins.” The furry eared man mused, “When we encountered Blue, it was just him, Green, and Black.”

“I never even saw a Blue Paladin.” The thin man sighed, “Maybe he would have been more fun than the Black Paladin. That man was a force of nature.”

“Only Green remained when I clashed with the Princess.” The veiled woman added, her bandaged hands clasped tightly in her lap.

“It almost sounds like someone was following behind us.” Korvar grumbled, “Plucking the Paladins after they had their fun with us.”

“Who would be powerful enough to do something like that?”

The bartender glared out at the people sitting at his bar, suppressing the young Green child that wanted to reap vengeance.

They may not have been the ones to steal her family but it all came back to them.

A buzz in his pocket grasped his attention and he freed up a hand to pull a small tablet from the front of his apron.

Red was located.

Two down, three to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little more obviously Klance/Laith (whatever we're calling it now. I'm fine with either. XD)  
> The focus is still on Pidge but I really love the relationship between Keith and Lance so I couldn't help but add it. (And I worked really hard to not write anything terribly shippy for Lance Week. I needed some of my OTP dammit).  
> Next up is my precious blue boy.  
> Until next time, guys!


	3. Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Pidge meet with the Cizanthian royalty in an effort to find their friends. Things do not go according to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, all!   
> Sorry about the wait on this one, life has decided to wreak havoc on my immune system lol  
> Enjoy this 8k of angst!

More and more people wandered into the bar as the hours passed. Beryl couldn’t help but scope out the crowd, old instincts making her fingers itch to reach into their pockets. She could feel her twin’s gaze on her face, the warning glare enough to keep her hands on the table.

Amaladis and Korvar sat comfortably in their chairs, a sense of relief and superiority emanating from them. It was almost enough to rouse Beryl’s ever present temper. She turned her bright emerald eyes to the bartender, meeting his sharp gaze boldly.

“We’ll go next.” Maltis offered, acting on the thoughts Beryl harbored.

They were twins, the most sacred bond of their dead people. They shared everything. Thoughts, emotions, kills. Their people even believed that they shared a soul.

“Both of you?” The bartender hummed, his gaze narrowing as he propped one arm on the bar’s counter, the other three hard at work.

“We work together.” Beryl sneered, “We always have. We’re the Zinz twins, thieves, assassins. Really whatever we get called for.”

“The Galactic Underworld’s jack of all trades.” The thin man grinned, seedy eyes making the fur on the end of Maltis’ ears raise.

That guy was bad news.

“Seems legitimate.” The bartender shrugged, seemingly ambivalent about the whole affair, “So who did you all in?”

“Blue.” Maltis sighed, the decidedly fuzzy feelings from his end of their bond making Beryl growl.

“We were sent to the planet Cizanthi on a tip from an anonymous informant.” Beryl continued, throwing her twin an angry look, “We were out for a hit that would finally take us to the big time. The rulers of Cizanthi had apparently granted an audience with a few of Voltron’s paladins. Particularly the Green one.”

“We’d heard that they were an easy target. Small, weaker than the others. Quick to anger.” Maltis added, picking up where his sister left off, “We figured that if we took them down, it’d spread our names throughout the universe.”

“I think I’m sensing a bit of a pattern.” The bartender said dryly, scaly tail flicking across the floor so quickly that Beryl frowned.

Was the bartender irritated?

Well, he had been listening to the lot of them bitch for the longest time. Beryl didn’t blame him.

“We hadn’t been counting on another Paladin being so close.”

~~~~

Lance sat in the quiet of the healing pods’ room, unable to bring himself to leave. It had been days and there was still very little sign of change.

He couldn’t do anything but stare at Pidge’s still face, the cryosleep making her look her age for once. She looked so small and fragile behind the blue tinted glass, a starburst shaped scar marking the center of her forehead, a forever reminder of the stunt she had pulled.

The stunt that had nearly killed her.

He almost hadn’t made it back to Blue. Pidge had begun to thrash dangerously in his arms, words in a multitude of different alien languages falling from her lips, mostly gibberish but still beyond worrying.

A part of Lance had almost expected her to die in his arms.

He’d seen the enormous form of the Black Lion in the distance and prepared himself for the worst.

That was, until everything went silent and a shrieking two toned scream rose up from the grand chamber. Pidge had immediately started to calm in his hold and Shiro landed soon after, scooping up their Green Paladin like the hero from every action movie that Lance had ever loved.

Once he was satisfied that his space little sister was in safe hands, he turned back. Keith had still been in there.

He’d almost made it to the doors, despite Keith’s warnings about druids, when the entire structure imploded. Lance had been thrown down the stairs, unable to do much more than watch the entire building smolder.

Just like Hunk, there had been no evidence of him in the rubble and Lance had _searched._ Dug and scraped and pleaded until his hands bled.

First Hunk and now Keith?

He didn’t know what to do.

Who did he tell about the druids? Were they responsible for the whole fiasco they were in right now? Two Paladins missing and a third in a coma wasn’t exactly a win for Team Voltron. Did they have Hunk in addition to Keith? Were they okay?

It ate Lance away at the core. They were just _gone._ No evidence, no real signs of struggle. Just blood and rubble.

Two members of his family gone and he had nothing. He’d even been absolutely awful to Keith before he disappeared. It was something he’d regret for the rest of his life, no matter what happened in the future.

Things between them had started to go good. Lance had started to truly consider the possibility of maybe having something more with the broody Red Paladin. Something deeper than the friendship they had just began to develop.

And then Hunk had disappeared. His best friend in the universe had vanished without a trace and he couldn’t _take it._ Hunk had been his rock, his piece of home in the darkness of space.

If Lance was the ocean, Hunk was the sun, keeping the waves warm so that they could comfort and entertain others. Without him, Lance was turbulent. Lost.

_He didn’t know what to do._

He could only look at Pidge and hold his vigil. He’d protect her. She was what he had left.

Sure, Shiro was still around but he had always been distant, a figure to be admired and respected rather than someone that Lance could really claim that he knew. It hurt his heart to think such a thing and he still considered Shiro to be a part of this space family but…he wasn’t _there_ the way Hunk, Pidge and Keith were.

And Hunk and Keith were gone.

Lance would protect Pidge to his dying breath if need be. But she had to wake up first. She had to come back out of her mind. He wouldn’t be able to help her in there.

He needed her. Not just for the enormity of her mind and the way she always seemed to know what to do, but for her presence and the comfort it brought him.

Half their family was gone and Lance was falling apart.

The door whooshed open behind him and he turned his head, keeping Pidge’s pod in his peripheral vision. Coran’s bright orange hair caught his attention and he turned fully, looking up at the Castle advisor blankly. The pity in Coran’s gaze should have made him act, try his best to pull the cheerful façade over his face but he couldn’t bring himself to.

“Lance…” Coran breathed, a realization in his eyes that Lance didn’t particularly care for.

He lifted an eyebrow in answer, waiting for Coran to make his move. “You need to rest, Lance.”

“Someone needs to be in here.” Lance returned, “And Shiro is busy trying to track down whatever leads we can find. I’m not going to let her be alone.”

“You aren’t going to be any help if you don’t take care of yourself.” Coran said sternly, “You need rest.”

“I need my friends back.” Lance hissed, a part of him itching for a fight. For a reason to rant and rave.

He wanted to make someone else feel the frustration and despair eating at him.

With a huff, Coran softened and Lance faltered. The atmosphere had shifted too abruptly, going from tension to quiet before Lance could really adjust.

Keith would have fought with him, even if it were nothing more than their harmless bickering. Keith understood the need to fight it out.

They’d bonded over such feelings before.

“You know something, don’t you?” Coran hummed, “We can help you, Lance. We want to find them just as much as you do.”

“Pidge and I were basically on our own trying to find Hunk.” Lance spat, rage welling up in him, “Where were you then?”

Regret flashed across Coran’s face and once again Lance found himself wrong-footed. “I’m sorry that you felt like you were on your own. We’d been trying but you and Pidge were so intent. It was like nothing we did was near enough.”

“I just want them back, Coran.” Lance sighed.

“As do I, my boy. As do I.”

“Keith had said something about druids. When I went after him. He kept saying to leave him, that there were druids in the temple.” Lance admitted, “The Galra are the only druids we know of. So do the Galra have Hunk and Keith?”

“I…I don’t know.” Coran said hesitantly, stepping forward to place a comforting hand on Lance’s shoulder.

It wasn’t much but the companionship made Lance’s lungs breathe a bit easier, made the burden of loss just slightly lighter to bear. “But if they do….” Coran hissed, a dangerous look coming to his face, “They had better be prepared.”

Lance nodded along, a similar rage welling in the center of his chest.

If the Galra did have them, if the _druids_ had them…there would be hell to pay.

A small beep pulled him from his slowly simmering anger and he turned, pushing the fire at the core of his being down under the waves of his psyche. As patiently as he could, he waited outside Pidge’s blinking pod, standing ready to catch her the moment that tube saw fit to release her.

It was agonizing. The few seconds it took for her to fall into his arms felt like an eternity.

Lance had felt so _alone._

She stirred as she hit his arms and he let out a breath of relief, a tension draining from his shoulders so suddenly that it felt like he’d finally put down the weight of the world.

Easing her to her feet, Lance looked her in the face, a part of him still concerned, still worried.

“Hey, Pidge. How you feeling?”

Hazel gold eyes flickered open, an unsettling blankness in them for only a moment before she narrowed her stare at him. “Lance. Blue.” She mumbled, a bit of confusion still evident in her face, “Brother. Friend.”

Her words hit him hard and he suppressed his flinch, still aware of Coran’s concerned gaze on his back. “Yeah, Pidge. It’s Lance.”

The sound of his voice seemed to trigger something and she winced, one hand coming to cradle her head while the other clung to Lance’s arm with a grip hard enough to bruise. “Fuck, my head hurts. What happened?”

A smile spread across Lance’s face at the more familiar response and he pulled her into his arms, her body stiffening for an instant before she melted into his embrace. “I take it something didn’t go right.”

“After you decided to try and take on a hive mind with your brain, you were comatose.” Lance scolded, a fierce protectiveness driving him, “You had started seizing too. We were pretty sure you were going to have something seriously wrong in your brain if you ever woke up again.”

Pidge’s forehead thudded against his chest dully and her fingers gripped at his jacket hard enough to make the material creak. “Oh. I don’t remember any of that.”

“Clearly.”

“Where’s Keith and Shiro?”

Lance could feel his expression tighten and he only buried his face in Pidge’s mop of unruly hair, giving himself a moment before resting his head atop of hers, mouth turned to the side and eyes tightly closed. “Shiro is on the bridge searching for more leads.”

“You still haven’t told me where Keith is, Lance.”

“Pidge…”

She pushed back from him roughly, eyebrows furrowed angrily. “Where is he? Just tell me! Is he in a pod too? Did he get hurt from my stupid stunt? Is that why you don’t want to tell me?” She demanded, a strange glowing behind her gold eyes.

“He’s gone.” Coran said bluntly, shattering the building tension like a brick, “Just like with Hunk. He disappeared.”

Pidge’s expression crumbled and she looked up to Lance desperately. He could do no more than nod. “All that’s left of the temple is rubble.” Lance whispered, his breath whooshing out of his chest as she dove back into his arms, “I looked everywhere, Pidgeon. He’s gone. Just like Hunk.”

“No.” Pidge breathed, “He can’t just be gone! They both can’t just be gone! There has to be something. Something we missed. Some element that we didn’t think of. There has to be a solution. There’s always a solution!”

A determination filled Lance and he pulled Pidge back to look her in the face, her devastated expression breaking his heart all over again.

Finally, something he could do.

He could be the big brother and pull them both through this. He could give Pidge his information and give her a lead. Then he could follow the trail of her comet until he was needed again.

He could do _this._

“Before the temple exploded, Keith had said something about druids. The rubble had blackened marks on it in some areas too.” Lance explained, watching as the gears began to turn in Pidge’s mind.

“Druids?” She said dangerously, a venom in her voice thick enough to make Lance’s skin crawl.

“We’re assuming they’re Galra druids.” Coran interjected, “There are other species who make use of druids in the vast universe.”

The blank look came to Pidge’s eyes once more and Lance felt a tendril of panic crawl up his chest. Was it too much? The stress of finding out that they were down yet another family member?

Her mind was fragile right now.

“Cizanthi.” She said absently, the word making Coran stiffen.

“Where did you hear that?” He said softly, unease clear in his posture.

“The royals have connections with Zarkon’s druids.” She continued, the meandering tone of her voice making Lance’s brows furrow.

…She didn’t come back with something else did she?

No one knew exactly what happened when you tried to take on a hive mind with your own brain. Maybe Pidge had been able to take some of the information from the hub of Guirguis.

But at what _price?_

With a shake of her head, Pidge came back to herself, determination in the set of her jaw. “Good to know that I got something out of that stunt.”

“You know what you were saying?” Lance hummed, looking at her critically.

She sighed and wiggled out of his hold, the loss of her small grip making him a bit more anxious than he had previous thought. “Yeah. I just had to zone out for a minute.”

“Give someone else the reins you mean.” Coran said disapprovingly, “There’s no way for us to tell what might have happened to your head, Pidge.”

“I’m still me, if that’s what you’re worried about.” She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest in a gesture that was so reminiscent of Keith that Lance felt his own chest constrict.

“We’re worried about what might have happened while you were connected to the hive mind.” Coran argued, the seriousness on his face strange after all this time, “At least let me scan you to make sure there isn’t any damage?”

Lance startled when Pidge looked to him, lifting an eyebrow before she glanced back to where Coran waited. Did she want him to go with her?

“It might be for the best, Pidgey.” Lance smiled, the expression feeling awkward on his face.

Smiling was hard right now.

With a heavy exhale, Pidge nodded turning back to where Coran stood, the machinery behind him giving a helpful beep. “Fill in Shiro?” She asked lowly, her eyes pleading.

Lance nodded, even as a part of him didn’t particularly like the idea of leaving Pidge alone. He’d long forgiven Shiro for the shouting match they’d had when he’d tried to get them to rest during their frantic search for Hunk.

He was their team leader and he really did want the best for them. There was just a bit of a disconnect between him and everyone else.

Shiro seemed so untouchable half the time.

Pushing the heavy thoughts to the back of his mind, Lance left the med bay behind, plodding towards the bridge with a single-minded determination.

He could hear voices as he approached and he stilled, curiosity warring with his respect for the privacy of those conversing within.

There were only two people that could be talking after all.

“…I’m worried about them, Princess.” Shiro’s gruff voice echoed through the metal doors, carrying easily to Lance’s curious ears.

“I’m worried about all of you.” Allura replied, “None of you have been taking care of yourselves. This headlong rush is hurting us. We’re only going to make more mistakes. I don’t want to lose any more Paladins.”

“We’re already missing two, Princess.” Shiro said hotly, “I can’t stop looking for them. They could be anywhere. The Galra could have them. I won’t leave anyone in the hands of the Galra.”

Sensing his entry point, Lance strode through the door, expression tight. “We think the Galra might have them.” Lance interjected, “Before I lost contact, Keith was trying to tell us to stay away. He said there were druids in the temple. There were scorch marks on the rubble.”

“Druids?” Shiro breathed, “Are you sure?”

“Not 100%. I didn’t see what Keith saw and that was after he had killed the hive mind. I don’t know if the psychic scream did anything to him.” Lance admitted, crossing his arms over his chest as he gazed up at Shiro’s stiff shoulders.

He’d never seen Shiro so unsettled. Guess he wasn’t as untouchable as Lance had previously assumed.

“Still. It’s more of a lead than we’d had before.” Allura hummed thoughtfully, “We might be able to find more information now.”

“Pidge is awake now too.” Lance offered, meeting Shiro’s emotional gaze, “And she…and whatever is in her head…said something about Cizanthi?”

Allura’s eyebrows immediately flew up and she turned to him sharply. “Cizanthi? Where would she have even heard such a thing?”

“Well, she did hook her brain up to a hive mind. Who knows what else she knows.” Lance shrugged, “She also said something about the druids having ties to their royalty.”

“If you could call the leaders of Cizanthi royalty.” Allura scoffed, “That entire planet is nothing but an endless party. What business would Zarkon’s druids have with them?”

“It’s still a lead.” Shiro said intently, “We should follow it.”

Allura pursed her lips for a moment, a measure of uncertainty crossing her face before determination cemented across her brow. “Very well. We’ll reach out to the Cizanthian royalty. But do not expect much in the way of help from them. They may grant us an audience but we will need to be cautious. Even their audiences are massive gatherings. They are dangerous to even the most experienced traveler.”

“Why are they dangerous?”

“There is a great deal of illegal substances. Most of which are used in recreation.” Allura said stiffly, “The Cizanthi people are also very free with their bodies and it is something that they utilize at every gathering.”

“So the planet is a giant rave.” Lance huffed, “Got it.”

“A rave?” Allura queried, looking at Shiro with an eyebrow quirked.

“It’s an Earth term, princess.” Shiro replied gently, giving Lance a grateful look, “Would you be able to take the lead on this one?”

“Me?” Lance sputtered, “Why me?”

“Lance, you’re really good in diplomatic situations like these. If we go, you may be best suited to interact.” Allura smiled, “I’m unsure how much help I would be. The Cizanthians were not particularly friendly to the Alteans when my father was in power. It is unlikely that they would have forgotten such animosity.”

A little humbled by their belief, Lance inclined his head.

“If you think it’ll help, I’ll take the lead.”

~~~~

Beryl looked to the incredulous faces of her audience and sighed, Maltis frowning beside her. “What?”

“You got an ‘anonymous tip’ to go to Cizanthi.” Korvar laughed, “There’s only one reason people go to Cizanthi and that’s to forget their troubles and party.”

“We did get one!” Maltis argued, Beryl’s fur standing on end as she scowled.

“Whether you believe us or not, that is where we encountered the Blue Paladin.” Beryl growled, “And believe me, it wasn’t much of a party after we drew his ire. They were quite the spectacle when they landed. The Lion was truly something to be seen.”

~~~~

It hadn’t taken long to get into contact with the Cizanthian royals. If anything, they were almost ingratiating in their willingness to extend the invitation.

The ease seemed a bit suspicious but Lance couldn’t really say much. Allura and Shiro were counting on him with this mission. They believed in his ability to succeed.

He would find the druids. He would find a more concrete lead on Keith and Hunk.

Everyone was depending on him.

He made it all the way to the hangar before the soft patter of small feet caught his attention. Lance stopped, shoulders bowing as he dipped his head. “Pidge, what are you doing?”

“Don’t think for a minute that you’re going there without me.” She hissed, a tinge of hurt in her voice that made Lance’s will tremble.

“Pidge, you’re still shaky from that thing on Guirguis.” Lance sighed, turning back to look at her.

He knew immediately that he’d made a mistake.

Blue met teary hazel and any will he’d had to leave her behind evaporated. “They’re gone because of _me_ , Lance. I can’t just sit by and not do anything!”

“Pidge…”

“Please, Lance.” She mumbled, “Let me help.”

His heart crumbled at her words and he huffed out his breath, hesitating for only a moment before extending his hand to her. “We’ll need to be careful.” Lance nodded, “I won’t let anything happen to you, Pidge.”

Her expression dimmed at his words and she shook her head violently. “Lance, Hunk and Keith are gone because they didn’t want anything to happen to me. I can take care of myself. I don’t want anyone else getting hurt on my behalf.”

“Pidge, you can’t blame yourself for that.” Lance murmured, stepping forward to put a heavy hand on her shoulder, “We all know that you can protect yourself. But you’re family. People do some pretty dumb things for their family.”

“You’re all my family too!” Pidge cried, “I can’t stand to watch you all hurt yourselves for my sake! Just…promise me. Promise me you won’t do something dumb trying to protect me.”

“I don’t know if-“

“ _Promise me._ ”

“Fine, Pidge. I’ll do my best.”

Her tiny sigh of relief made Lance’s chest tighten and he couldn’t help but ruffle her hair. She batted his hands away and gave him a firm glare. “Are we going or not?”

“Sure thing, Pidgeotto.”

He let her trail behind him as he plodded to the Blue Lion, her familiar aura comforting him as he made his way to the cockpit, the soft patter of Pidge’s footsteps following behind. She stood far closer than normal, almost as if she were afraid he would leave her behind if she let him get too far away.

It barely took a tick for the Blue Lion to make it to the atmosphere of Cizanthi, the lights from the planet surface showing up in a mass of colors and shapes.

“Objectively, it is really pretty down there.” Pidge observed, fingers curled over the back of Lance’s chair as he brought them down to the surface.

“Apparently, the entire planet is some kind of giant rave.” Lance winked, “It sounds like a good time.”

“Make sure you behave yourself, Lance.” Pidge grinned, “Wouldn’t want to end up drunk and in bed with a stranger you married in a bit of drunken romantic stupor.”

“That was oddly specific.” Lance chortled, a bit relieved at Pidge’s banter.

“It’s what I always thought you would do if we ended up in a situation like this.” Pidge hummed, “Of course, I always thought you’d either end up with some random stranger or Keith.”

“Keith?” Lance yelped, the tips of his ears burning underneath his helmet.

“Cool your jets, Lance. We already know.” Pidge said sadly, “And I hope when we get him back, you guys can work everything out.”

Lance sent her a small smile in thanks, maneuvering the Blue Lion to settle down in an open patch of concrete outside what appeared to be a palace.

A very large and ostentatious palace.

“Thanks, Pidge.”

“No problem, Lance.” Pidge smiled, the look on her face easing yet more of the tension that had built up in Lance’s shoulders ever since she’d awoken.

He could still barely look upon the scar on her forehead without an ominous foreboding but he pushed past it, appreciating that she was still around to be worried about.

There were so many things that could have gone wrong.

He was just so glad that he hadn’t lost her in a far more permanent way than he’d lost Keith and Hunk.

“Stay close when we get out here.” Lance instructed, ignoring Pidge’s groan, “The Cizanthian royalty wanted to throw some party for our meeting. And after what Allura said, I don’t think it’s safe to trust anything in there.”

Pidge nodded along with his words, patting the subspace pocket where her bayard resided. “I think we’ll be fine, Lance.”

“Still. Be careful.”

“Yes, mom.” Pidge drawled, her expression impetuous.

Lance sent her a deep frown before standing up and planting his hands on his hips. “Pidge, I’m serious. I don’t want you to get into trouble.”

“If anyone is going to get into trouble, it’s you, Lance.”

“Your faith in me is stunning.”

Pidge laughed, following behind him as he made his way out of the Lion, the crowd of curious aliens giggling and chirping amongst themselves as the two Paladins exited. A couple of long-tailed humanoids moved to the front of the crowd, their wide pupil-less blue eyes excited at the scene before them.

“Paladins!” The male of the pair crowed, “It is a pleasure to meet you in person at last! We are eager to begin your meeting but first, we must celebrate!!”

“It really is quite urgent that we meet with you.” Lance tried but his voice was quickly drowned out by the cheers of the crowd.

They pushed the two Paladins along in their excited throng, the press of bodies making Lance reach out and pull Pidge to him tightly. Her face had just begun to look panicked when he maneuvered her through the crowd, letting her move in front of him as the crowd herded them into the enormous palace.

Pulsing lights lit the top of the gargantuan room, bodies already pressed together on the dropped floor below. Music surged through room, the bass loud enough that Lance could feel it vibrate in his chest.

In any other situation, such a sensation would have been welcome. Familiar. Calming, even. He was at home in music and being able to feel it down to his bones would have helped to center him, if not for the mission that he was currently on.

He was here for information. There wasn’t time for this.

Pidge gave him a searching look before inclining her head towards a dais high above the writhing dance floor. “Looks like the royals are up there. You might be able to convince them to give you a meeting now.”

“What about you?” Lance groaned, looking between his tiny charge and the tailed royals on their dais.

“I’ll be fine, Lance.” Pidge huffed, “I’m gonna stick to the outside of whatever that mass of bodies is and maybe talk to some people. They might know something too. If not about the druids, then maybe about Korvar or the people of Guirguis.”

“Be careful, Pidge.”

~~~~

“It was stroke of luck when the two of them split up.” Beryl grinned, “The small Green, all alone in the midst of a Cizanthian celebration. It seemed like the perfect set up.”

“All we needed to do was kill her.” Maltis hummed, “Our contact assured us that killing her would make us famous throughout the galaxy.”

“Contact?” The bartender tutted, “You were taking orders.”

“They were tips.” Beryl huffed, “They weren’t orders. The Zinz twins don’t take orders from anyone.”

“That’s why no one knows who you are.” Korvar smirked, “See, orders typically entail some kind of payment afterwards. Maybe you should look into it.”

Beryl snarled at the large man while Maltis only slumped back into his seat. “Can we continue our story now or do you want to make fun of us some more?”

“Making fun of you has its own merits but the contest needs us all to tell our stories, so go on.” Amaladis said blandly, flicking his eyes between the twins and the bartender.

“As we were saying, the Paladins split up not long after getting to the celebration. The Blue one climbed the dais while we started our pursuit of the Green one. Everything was going great.”

“Until Blue saw us…”

~~~~

It didn’t take long for Lance to ascend the steps to the dais, the music still rattling his chest even up at the top of the platform. Armed guards gave him measured nods and he strode forward, chin held high and a grin ready to fire.

He knew people. He understood them.

Machines had never been his strong point and he was content with leaving the more tech oriented stuff to Pidge and Hunk.

But diplomacy? This was something he could really _contribute_ to. Sometimes it was enough to be observant and flattering.

Lance could firmly say that he was quite practiced in all of the above.

And judging by the environment the Cizanthians operated in, they were going to be quite amenable to flattery of many different kinds.

He was going to get his friends back and he didn’t care what he was going to have to do.

Family meant _everything_ to him.

The royals at the top of the dais eyed him appreciatively once he’d made it to their level, the fluctuating lights shading the white of his armor in a vast multitude of color.

“Greetings, again, Blue Paladin.” The male leader purred, eyes luminescent in the gloom of the dim palace.

“Greetings to you too, rulers of Cizanthi.” Lance said softly, careful to keep his voice low and soothing.

It had been an excellent technique when he had first started these negotiations and he couldn’t see it failing him now.

“Are you not enjoying the celebration, Blue?” The female leader crooned, voice deceptively calm.

“Your celebration is awe-inspiring. I don’t think I’ve seen so many varied species in one room.” Lance responded quickly, a distinct feeling of unease crawling down the length of his spine.

Something wasn’t right here.

“It is good to hear that our celebration is to your liking. Why don’t you go down and enjoy yourself? Such relaxation cannot happen with much frequency in your line of work.” The queen hummed, her blue eyes piercing, “You should take advantage of the opportunity. You seem so tense.”

“As lovely and utterly tempting as that sounds, Your Majesty, there is something laying so heavily on my heart that I am having a hard time relaxing.” Lance admitted, letting his eyes fall to the floor sadly, “And it’s more than your simply celestial beauty, dear Queen.”

He punctuated his statement with a cheeky wink, the queen giving him an approving grin all while the king looked on, a calculating look in his wide eyes.

“What is it, Paladin?” The queen asked sweetly, the tail behind her flicking gently, “Perhaps it is something within our power to alleviate?”

Lance barely contained a grin at her words, a slight relief building in his chest.

This could be it. They could have a real lead into finding their friends and then he could get Pidge out of here.

Every second they were separated, the more nervous Lance became. He’d promised to not do anything dumb and he knew that Pidge was more than capable, but still, he worried.

This whole situation was a clusterfuck and a half. Even with Shiro and Allura on standby, Lance didn’t feel safe.

He especially didn’t think that Pidge was safe. Too many people had come after her specifically. Two Paladins of Voltron were missing because the universe seemed out to get the smallest Paladin.

Shaking off the creeping sense of danger, Lance flashed the queen a bright smile, taking a few steps forward.

“It’s my family, Your Majesty, my fellow Paladins.” Lance murmured, still speaking just loud enough that the long eared royals could hear him, “Two of them have gone missing and even with all Voltron’s might, we’ve unable to find them. I’m afraid that I can’t stop thinking about them long enough to enjoy the celebration you threw in our honor.”

The king and queen immediately exchanged a look before returning their intense gazes to Lance. “That is regrettable, lovely Paladin.” The king purred, “Maybe there _is_ something we can do for you.”

“Really?” Lance crowed, unable to quell the enthusiasm in his voice.

Internally, he berated himself. Even with all his bartering lessons with Coran, he was still too prone to outbursts. These were no Unilu traders though. Maybe they wouldn’t take his outburst as a show of weakness…and pounce.

Diplomacy was a bit harder than he expected.

“Truly, young Paladin.” The queen chortled, “Return to the celebration for now. We must convene so that we may be able to alleviate your distress.”

Lance bowed deeply to the royalty before him, a glimmer of hope taking root in his chest.

Even with the bad reputation and apparent connection to the druids, it really seemed like the Cizanthians were going to _help_ them.

He turned from the royalty on the dais, a smile pulling at his lips as he walked to the steps. He couldn’t wait to tell Pidge.

He searched the crowd below for the telltale gleam of her paladin armor, the white panels that glowed strangely in the multicolored lights.

It didn’t take him long to find her.

She flitted along the outside of the mass of dancing bodies, alternating between looking at the grinding dancers with a clinical curiosity and trying to speak to the inebriated stragglers.

Lance could almost see her frustration from the dais he stood upon and it made the smile finally spread along his face.

That is, until a distinct flash of metallic light caught his attention. A flicker of unease tickled at his spine and he searched for the flash once more, ignoring the furry-eared man trying to strike up a conversation with the Green Paladin.

His eyes combed the alcoves above the dance floor, heart sinking fast in his chest.

This place was a sniper’s paradise.

High arches surrounded the depressed floor, hidden nooks and crannies simply begging for a patient sniper.

As Lance scanned, that is precisely what he found.

Sleek metal peeked from behind an arch, the barrel unerringly directed at the unprotected back of the Green Paladin.

His blood went cold.

~~~~

“The shot was set up perfectly.” Beryl bragged, puffing her chest out proudly, “I couldn’t have asked for a better scene. A true paradise for sharpshooters.”

Korvar scoffed before throwing back the dregs of his drink. “That Green bastard is a hard shot to make. They’re squirrelly as hell.”

“That’s why my role was so important.” Maltis purred, palming his knife before slamming it into the wood of their table.

“Hey!” The bartender boomed, the volume of his voice making the whole group jump, “Get that damn knife out of my quiznacking table before I put it through your hand!”

Maltis pulled his knife from the table sheepishly, carefully not making eye contact with the irate bartender.

“So what was so important about your role?” Amaladis asked, looking a bit uneasy from the interruption.

“What? Oh, yes, uh… I’m the close combat specialist between the two of us. In the event that the Paladin dodged Beryl’s shot, I would take them out. It’s a foolproof way to eliminate targets. I distract them, Beryl shoots, and I finish.”

“Sounds like you have it down to an art.” The veiled woman sniffed, “Wonder why it didn’t work.”

“We were up against another sniper.” Beryl pouted, “And he was good.”

“Beyond good.” Maltis hummed, ignoring the glare from his sister, “It was like nothing I’ve ever seen.”

~~~~

Lance could feel his heart pounding in his chest, the sudden fear for Pidge making his thunderous heartbeat roar in his ears.

Someone was after Pidge. _Again._

Mind working on overdrive, Lance watched the barrel of the sniper sway, the shot lining up with a patience that would have been impressive in another situation.

Now all Lance could think about was the impending shot and Pidge’s unprotected back. She was too far away from him to push her out of harm’s ways and something about the man speaking to her made Lance nervous.

It could be a team operation.

What if there were more? What if this whole thing was a trap? A ploy to take yet another member of his space family?

A snarl curled over his face and he let his bayard materialize in his hand, fingers gripping the handle so tightly that his knuckles creaked.

He wouldn’t allow it.

His blaster formed in his hands with nary a thought, his hands pulling the sight up to his face.

This would come down to timing. He’d only have one shot apiece.

Anyone that approached Pidge in the next thirty seconds was now a target.

And he wasn’t Voltron’s sharpshooter for nothing.

He locked onto his fellow sniper first, praying that he lined up his shot before they did. Blue purred in the back of his mind, her support and presence giving him the patience he needed to make sure that he’d only need one shot.

It was like Beta Traz all over again.

With a deep breath, he took the shot.

The bolt of blue sped across the open ceiling of the room, hitting the barrel of the sniper rifle and ripping it from the sniper’s hands, the weapon falling to the floor.

Lance caught a flash of infuriated emerald eyes before he redirected his attention to the furry-eared man on the floor. The one who’s hand hovered over his hip, the distinct shape of a knife sitting beneath the clothing.

He’d spent more than enough time with Keith. He knew what it looked like when people were concealing knives under their clothes. Keith always had at least three on his person at any given time. It’d almost been a game to figure out where they were.

Keith was much better at hiding them than this guy.

The shot lined up perfectly and he took it, lowering his blaster with a vicious grin when the blast met the hand he’d been aiming for, the man howling in pain before turning to snarl at the stairs.

Another set of emerald eyes met his and Lance gave a wicked grin. They really should start running now.

You didn’t threaten _his_ family.

~~~~

“He shot you. In the hand. From across a crowded room?” Korvar gaped, sitting up in interest at last.

“He shot my sniper rifle out of my hands too.” Beryl huffed, “It really threw a major wrench in our plans. He brought the entire room’s attention on us too.”

“Makes sense.” The bartender mused, drawing Beryl’s ire.

“How so?”

“He didn’t know how many of you there were, right?” The bartender continued, “By drawing attention to you two, he would have made it difficult for any of the other members of your group to act.”

Beryl only blinked at the deduction, Amaladis nodding along sagely. “The Blue one had accompanied the Green and Red on my planet. He was the only one left behind when they entered. And he was the one that held off my people when the Red one had been fighting me.”

“You’re ruining your own chances, chump. Quit adding to their story.” Korvar grumbled.

Amaladis ducked his head and Beryl sighed. “Whatever he did, he was pissed. Shooting us once hadn’t been enough for him. When we tried again, he just kept interfering.”

“He was like some kind of avenging angel.” Maltis waxed poetically, “Descending from on high to mete out his justice.”

“Is he okay?” The bartender deadpanned.

“He might be a bit besotted but that’s beside the point.” Beryl interjected, “The Blue Paladin wasn’t going to let us get away.”

~~~~

The room immediately erupted in screams and Lance blanched.

That…wasn’t what he had intended. Inwardly, he berated himself. Firing a blaster twice in a crowded room wasn’t exactly a genius idea.

He groaned aloud and zeroed in on where Pidge looked to him with wide eyes, the man in front of her clutching at his injured hand.

“Run with the crowd, Pidge!” Lance roared, ignoring the angry look in her eyes as he ran down the steps to the dais, guards hot behind him in an effort to pacify the crowd.

He charged into the crowd himself, grumbling under his breath as he saw Pidge firmly ignore his instructions. “Shiro! Pidge needs an extraction.”

_“What are you talking about? What happened?”_

“Someone just tried to assassinate Pidge again. A couple of someones. I stopped them this time but I don’t know how many there are and I may have just triggered the panic response in an entire crowd of people. Just please, Shiro, come and get her. She won’t listen to me.”

_“Copy that. I’ll be there soon.”_

Lance breathed a sigh of relief at his words, pushing past the panicking masses in an effort to get to where Pidge was about to engage her own assailant.

He heard the hum of her bayard activating and he charged forward through the people, desperate to get to his fellow Paladin. He couldn’t let anything happen to her.

She was what he had _left._

He skidded through the crowd in time to see Pidge catch her assailant’s arm with her bayard, a knife clutched in his uninjured hand. “I told you I can handle myself!” She snarled, “I am a Paladin too, Lance.”

“He’s not the only one, Pidge.” Lance returned, darting forward in a haze of protective fear.

There was a charge in the air that made his hair stand on end even as Pidge called out questions. “Lance, what are you talking about?”

He could see the bolt in the air already. He didn’t know how they’d gotten their weapon back but they hadn’t wasted any time.

Faster. He had to move faster.

He slid in front of Pidge’s unprotected back just in time to take the shot to the shoulder, the power behind the bolt enough to shatter the shoulder plate on his armor the noise deafening. The pain in his shoulder was enough to make him sway but he pulled his bayard up once more and returned fire, a pained cry letting him know that his attack had met its mark.

“Beryl!” The male assailant cried, clutching at his own chest, a starburst shaped wound appearing in his skin.

He threw off Pidge’s weapon, leaping up and over the mass of the crowd, the pained haze in Lance’s mind urging him after the assassins. Only Pidge’s hand on his back made him stop. “Lance, you’re hurt. We need to go.”

“I can’t, Pidge. I still need to talk to the royalty again. They know something and they were going to tell me. I can’t leave yet.” He argued, gritting his teeth against the agony in his shoulder.

“You promised me you wouldn’t do anything dumb, Lance.” Pidge said tightly, turning so that she could let her forehead rest against his back, “But thank you for saving my life.”

“I’m not going to let you die, Pidgeon. Promise or not. I think impending death is a clause in the promise contract. You can trust me, I’m totally not bullshitting this.” Lance babbled, the pain in his shoulder making it hard to concentrate.

She laughed quietly behind him, the two of them watching at the male ran for one of the open windows. Anger swirled in Lance’s chest and he lifted his bayard once more, shoulder screaming in protest.

“Lance, what are you doing?” Pidge panicked, her voice sounding so very far away.

“Sending a message.” Lance smirked, firing the blaster.

The shot traveled over the tops of the rioting crowd and hit right beside the furry eared man’s head, blasting off a chunk of plaster right in front of him. He looked back, eyes wide in terror and something that looked dangerously like adoration.

Their gazes met for a moment before Lance lifted his blaster once more in warning and the man fled, the limp form of the other assailant clutched in his arms.

~~~~

“He could have easily killed us.” Maltis sighed, “But he didn’t. The last shot was a warning, a reminder that his next shot would not be so kind.”

“I didn’t know about that part.” Beryl mumbled, the same kind of dreamy light coming shine in her eyes.

“He let you go?” Korvar sputtered, “He really let you go?”

“He did.” Maltis nodded, “We stayed long enough for me to stabilize Beryl and then we saw a wing of the castle go up in flames. I don’t know what happened after that.”

“What a kind hearted soldier.” The veiled woman chortled, “Not what you’d necessarily expect from such a deadly sniper.”

“Gun fights are always interesting, if dangerous, affairs to watch.” The thin man drawled, “If he truly was as skilled as you said, it would be entertaining to watch him in action. A shame he was missing when I encountered Voltron.”

“Missing?”

~~~~

Lance let his bayard dematerialize with a heavy sigh, tension leaving his shoulders in a rush. Pidge echoed his sentiment with a rough laugh, shaking her head against the back of Lance’s armor.

“I think the universe is out to get me.” She mumbled, the pounding music and screaming crowd finally quieted.

“I think you might be right.” Lance agreed, “Maybe you shouldn’t have hacked that one galactic terminal to play the Nyan Cat song.”

“I lost a bet to Keith. That one is his fault.”

“Why would you bet against Keith? He’s weirdly lucky like that.”

“I honestly didn’t think he would he eat that weird alien bug thing. It was the size of his head.” Pidge shuddered.

Lance laughed weakly at the image before his shoulder throbbed once more. He buckled, taking a knee and looking up towards the dais he had just come from.

He squinted through the haze of pain before the scene cleared and his heart dropped.

The king and queen definitely weren’t alone up on the dais anymore. There were quite a few people on the dais and Lance would recognize those masks anywhere.

“Hide, Pidge. Now.”

“Lance, what are you talking about?”

“Please. I don’t care if you don’t listen to me again but please, listen to me now. I need you to hide.” Lance begged, “I don’t want to break my promise to you again.”

“It sounds like you already are, Lance.” Pidge wavered, hands grasping at the back of Lance’s armor.

“Shiro is on his way but there are druids here, Pidge.” Lance breathed, “I might be able to get them to at least say something but if they get us both, we’ll be in trouble. Please, Pidge.”

“If you don’t come back to the castle, I will hunt you to the ends of the universe just so I can kick your ass, Lance.” Pidge snarled, recoiling her bayard and engaging the invisibility on her armor.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less, Pidgey.”

Lance waited until he could no longer hear the soft patter of her footsteps before he turned to the dais, straightening his spine with every shred of defiance he had left in his body.

He should have trusted his instincts. He’d let himself hope that maybe the Cizanthians were just misunderstood. He’d had faith that they’d be inherently good people but it seems he was wrong.

The druids poured off the dais like a dark flood, the Cizanthian royalty following after them at a measured pace, hungry looks on their face. Lance lifted his bayard once more, unwilling to go down without at least some semblance of a fight. He fired and fired but the druids zapped out of the way, reaching him far quicker than he had anticipated.

Pain radiated from his shoulder with worrying frequency and he gave it a passing glance only to see crimson ribboning all over the front of his armor.

This was bad.

“Stand down, Paladin.” The queen simpered, “You are hopelessly outmatched, injured, and trapped.”

“Don’t fight it.” The king added, the druids coming to surround Lance, their silence unnerving on a spiritual level.

Were they even breathing? Lance couldn’t tell.

“You sold us out.” He snarled, playing up his reaction as he flipped his com on.

_“Lance, what’s going on?_ ”

“Is it really selling you out when we never had an intention of allying ourselves with you? Surely your Altean prude told you about us? We’ve never hidden our allegiance to the Galra.” The queen huffed, “Besides, you knew what you were looking for. You knew that we would have some information on your dear missing Paladins. It was most crafty of you, pretty human.”

“Where are my friends?” Lance demanded, the world slipping sideways for a moment before it snapped back.

What had that sniper shot him with? He wasn’t bleeding enough for blood loss to be affecting him.

“It was a shame that you took the shot intended for the Green Paladin. After her stunt with the galactic terminal, we were quite offended. That song was offensive to our entire race. We were the ones who tipped the Zinz twins off but you just had to be overprotective. What was it you said? The Paladins were your family? What a farce.” The king sneered, “That poison is very fast acting.”

Lance blinked at the monarch in front of him, knees buckling once more, druids coming to flank him on either side. “It’s so good that our druidic friends were here to give you a hand.” The queen sighed, “Maybe when Zarkon’s done with you, he’ll give you back. You are quite the exotic specimen after all. We’ve never seen a human before. You’d be quite the attraction at our parties. We have many different exotic pets after all.”

“Where are my friends?” Lance tried again.

“Haven’t you figured it out yet? You’re going to be seeing them soon.” The druid behind him hissed, “We’ve been gathering you up. One by one. Once we have the set we’ll turn you over to Lady Haggar so that she may gift you to Lord Zarkon. Voltron will be defeated once and for all.”

Lance furrowed his eyebrows once before he flicked his gaze back to the royalty that smirked so sweetly at him. There wasn’t any way that he would be able to get away from the druids as he was and he didn’t know what he was poisoned with.

But he could get back at the Cizanthians. They wouldn’t get away unscathed.

Carefully, he lined up his blaster, pretending to be aiming for the weakest point of the circle of druids. “You won’t get away, Paladin.” The druid snarled, “You belong to us now.”

A smirk curled over his face as he fired, the druid in the trajectory dissipating as he’d expected and giving the bolt a clear shot to the well-stocked bar.

The blast immediately crashed into the bottles of highly flammable alcohol and other similar alien booze, an explosion rocking the castle and blowing out the far wall, the expensive draperies and walls catching fire and spreading quickly.

“You bastard.” The king breathed, stepping forward as dark spots started to dance across Lance’s vision.

“Remember your place, Cizanthian.” A druid snarled, reaching out and grasping Lance roughly.

Just before black claimed him completely, he could see the Black Lion in the distance, the back of the robot disappearing into the horizon.

They were safe.

He kept them safe and gave them a path.

Black consumed his vision and he knew no more.

~~~~

Night had truly fallen on the planet and the bartender looked out over his steadily filling bar, the duality within making it hard to concentrate.

He looked up to see a man in shadow in the back, an impressive mustache the only thing visible under his enveloping cloak. He held up three fingers and the bartender nodded.

Internally, Pidge prepared herself.

Three down, two to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then there were two!  
> Next chapter we're going to be looking at Shiro and how this really affecting our favorite space dad.  
> Until next time, guys!


	4. Black

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dantanelle tells the tale of the infamous Black Paladin, the Galra's beloved Champion and Shiro deals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooo, this was hecking doozy to write. I tend to have a horribly hard time getting into Shiro's headspace to write him so it always takes so much longer.  
> Anyway, enjoy your 10k of glorious Voltron space family angst and feels.

Dantanelle typically didn’t have the inclination to linger in bars, particularly bars this far off the beaten path but this contest was proving far too amusing to regret. One by one they’d all told their tales of the Paladins that he’d had the _displeasure_ of missing.

They all seemed like they would have made the most exquisite adversaries.

The twins looked relieved after the culmination of their tale even as Korvar and Amaladis appeared smug, content that the story of their Paladin would see them the victor of this impromptu contest.

“Perhaps it is time that I added my tale into the competition.” Dantanelle simpered, grinning at how many of the bar’s patrons shuddered at the sound of his voice.

His other competitors even seemed to be wary of him, an unease in their features that made a wicked smile pull at the corners of his mouth.

He enjoyed the effect of his presence. It brought him great joy to be a figure of fear and disdain to the people of the public.

He could feel such emotions pouring off everyone...except the bartender, the unwilling judge of their little contest.

It was intriguing to say the very least.

“So, which Paladin messed you up?” Korvar tried, attempting an air of nonchalance.

The tremor in his hands betrayed him and Dantanelle grinned, the metallic fingers of his prosthetic hand tightening into a fist.

“The head of Voltron, the Black Paladin.” Dantanelle said dramatically, “Or as the Galra know him, the Champion.”

The rest of the table paused and looked to him, expressions among them varying from awe to fear.

“The Champion leads Voltron?” Maltis squeaked, his scarred hand clutching at the edge of the table.

Dantanelle could only nod, satisfied with the diverse reaction his announcement generated.

“The remaining Paladins just so happened to wander into my domain in Hyvanich. I’d been making my yearly rounds when they came across me. The Champion himself was a prize too good to pass up but I must admit, my true interest was piqued by the Green Paladin. While not nearly as physically capable as the Champion, she was clever. A smart competitor always makes for a more amusing fight.”

“Competitor?”

“What did you mean by yearly rounds?” The bartender asked breezily, arms keeping up with the rush all while staring Dantanelle down with an enviable ease.

“My yearly rounds to collect more competitors.” Dantanelle drawled, “Zarkon’s arenas don’t fill themselves, you know.”

“A slaver.” Beryl snarled, the fur on her ears standing on end.

“This is one term for what I do.” He grimaced, “Although, I personally prefer _collector._ And I had fully intended to _collect_ the Green Paladin. In my arrogance, I had forgotten the prowess of the Champion.”

“That proved to be my undoing.”

~~~~

It was all Shiro could do to keep ahold of Pidge when the Cizanthian palace erupted in flame, the Green Paladin clawing at him in her desperation to get back to the Paladin he had inadvertently left behind.

After Lance’s call, he’d taken off and infiltrated the palace. He’d found Pidge hidden in an alcove, her wide eyes watching as a veritable army of druids had come swarming from the royal dais.

He hadn’t thought to follow her frightened eyes when he scooped her up, only running as soon as he had secured the Paladin he’d been called for. It was a lapse in judgement that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Shiro had been so focused on Lance’s words, his plea for an extraction on Pidge’s behalf striking a chord in his soul. She was the littlest Holt, Matt’s beloved sister and Sam’s brilliant daughter.

He had to keep at least _one_ Holt safe.

He _had_ to.

It wasn’t until he had gotten back to Black and begun to leave the atmosphere that Lance’s com had flicked on. He’d called out fruitlessly before he realized just what had happened.

What he’d allowed to happen.

Lance had played bait to give them a true lead.

And Shiro had left him behind.

He’d wheeled Black around just in time to see the palace erupt into flames. He could only stare at the raging fire, a guilty numbness deadening his chest even as he held onto Pidge with all his strength.

“Shiro, Shiro you bastard we have to go back! Lance is still in there!” Pidge all but screamed, pointy elbows digging into his ribs as she fought to get back to the smoldering building.

“Pidge, the druids are probably long gone by now.” Shiro breathed, forcing rationality into his voice, “We’d only be putting ourselves in more danger.”

He had to be the voice of reason right now. He couldn’t focus on the fact that his team- _his family_ \- was nearly gone. Three bright lights had disappeared from his life and it was crushing.

He’d failed another team.

Pidge gave him a look of pure betrayal before renewing her struggles in earnest, her fingers clawing at his human arm and screeching against the metal of his Galra arm. “Takashi, turn this fucking Lion around! We’re not leaving without him! I’m not losing another one, dammit!” She pleaded, “Please, he promised. He _promised_ he wouldn’t do anything dumb. We have to go back.”

The sheer fact that Pidge was begging cleaved his heart in half but Shiro couldn’t give in. What if the druids were still there? Simply waiting for the rest of Voltron to wander in?

He couldn’t let them take all of Voltron. He couldn’t let them take more from him.

Even if it killed him to listen to Pidge shriek and swear and batter at him. He let her continue until she was gasping from exertion, the flames consuming the palace at an impressive rate. “I’m sorry, Pidge. But Lance wouldn’t have wanted us to put ourselves in danger like that. Especially not after he called me to extract you.”

She only gave him a cold snort, her golden eyes blazing with anger. “Don’t pretend you understand anything about Lance.” She spat, “You never would have hesitated if it was Keith.”

Her words cut deep and he let her go as he flinched. “Pidge, you know that isn’t true.”

“Are we at least going to go back for Blue? Or are you going to abandon her too?” Pidge continued, turning back to him with fists clenched, “I mean, what’s one less Lion? What’s one less Paladin? Are we all so replaceable to you? Why would you leave Lance behind like that?! WE COULD HAVE HELPED HIM!”

Something in Shiro snapped and he surged to his feet, towering over the smallest Paladin. “Have you ever fought off a druid, Pidge?” He snarled, grief and pain coalescing in his chest, “I have. And I can tell you that none of us would have left that room. We would have lost Voltron in its entirety today if we’d been in there when the druids took him. If it weren’t for the call that Lance made, I would have lost all of you today! Lance called me to protect you and I respected the call that he made. Lance had the lead on this mission and I followed the orders that I was given!”

“Always about following orders with you, Shiro.” Pidge replied, “Or should I say, Captain Shirogane. That’s all we are to you. Just subordinates. But they are my brothers. My family up here in this fucking mess of a war. And I’ve lost them. I’ve lost my family _again.”_

Shiro faltered at her shaky words, the tension in his shoulders loosening in defeat. “I’m sorry, Pidge. But they weren’t just your family. I know it may not seem like it but I love them just as much as you do. But I’m glad I was at least able to save you. It’s what the others would have wanted.”

“I don’t want your apology, Shiro.” Pidge sniffed, the tears spilling from her eyes doing nothing to diminish the picture of rage that she presented, “I want my family back. I want all of my family back. And I want people to stop sacrificing themselves for me. It isn’t fair!”

“I know it isn’t fair, Pidge. But they care about you. I care about you. And people do dumb things when they care about others.” Shiro said sternly, embracing his inner parental figure.

They called him “Space Dad” for a reason. He could feel guilty later. He could feel regret later. But right now, Pidge needed him, even if she didn’t want to.

They were all that was left.

Pidge’s expression dimmed and she staggered to the side of the cockpit, sliding down the wall until she was nearly hidden by control panels. She curled her knees to her chest and buried her face in her kneecaps. “I’m mad at you. And I want to blame you for this but…” She mumbled, looking up just enough that Shiro could see her eyes swimming with tears, “They’re so dumb. They’re all so beautifully dumb. And I just want them back so I can punch them in their faces.”

A weak smile pulled across Shiro’s face and he let himself crouch in front of her. “We all are. But we’re going to get them back, Pidge. I believe in you and I believe in us. We won’t let the Galra keep them. I won’t let the Galra keep any of you.”

When he got them back, he would fix this. Fix the rift that he had allowed to grow between himself and the others. He’d been so focused on making sure that they would be safe, that he wouldn’t _fail_ another team, that he forgot just how much they depended on one another. He was their leader, of course, but he was also their friend and he definitely considered all of them family.

Being the father figure was a tad bit too strange for him though, even if he was clearly the oldest of all of them.

But for now, he needed to focus on the littlest of them, the smallest of these kids who looked up to him. Hesitantly, he extended his hand to Pidge, offering a bridge of peace as gently as he could. He could understand her anger, understand her grief. He felt the same.

He had left Lance behind. But thanks to Lance, he still had one member of this dysfunctional space family and he was going to need her help to find the rest of them.

If anyone could do it, it was Pidge.

Pidge looked between her knees and Shiro’s outstretched hand before tentatively placing her hand in his own. “We need to go down there, Shiro.” She hiccupped, “There has to be some kind of clue as to where they took them. The Cizanthians have to know something.”

“I know.” He sighed, helping her to her feet and letting her rest her forehead against his chest, “But we need a plan. We keep walking into traps because everyone isn’t taking the time to think things through. We’re going to need a plan from here forward. For now, we’ll start with the palace. Then we’ll retrieve Blue and confer with Coran and Allura. Even if our brothers are missing, our family isn’t gone, Pidge. We will get them back. I promise.”

It was a promise that Shiro felt heavily on his heart. There was so much that he needed to fix when he got them back but until then, he would focus.

He needed his family to be safe.

Patience. _Patience would yield focus._

The Black Lion descended to the surface quickly, her purrs in the back of Shiro’s mind helping to center his psyche. She had his back and she understood the pain he felt. He could feel Blue’s grief through the Lions’ connection and it resonated within him.

Even as they landed Shiro kept Pidge close, the recent attempts on her life making him wary of even the slightest shadow.

Nothing could be trusted. No corner was safe.

And he definitely needed to have a talk with Keith about what kind of bets he was making with Pidge. There would have to be some ground rules to that particular game after this whole Nyan Cat fiasco.

Despite his words of caution, Pidge scampered into the smoldering ruins of the Palace, sealing her suit and nearly losing Shiro to the smoke and debris. With a curse, he sealed his own helmet and chased after her, readying his lecture with every step that he took.

That is, until he saw her standing in the ruins of the grand chamber, Lance’s bayard clutched to her chest and a scrap of black fabric clenched in her hands. “He doesn’t even have his weapon.” She whispered, “At least Hunk and Keith had theirs but he’s unarmed. And poisoned. How long would they even try to keep him alive, Shiro? How long would they keep any of them alive? It feels like it’s been forever since we lost Hunk.”

“We have to believe in them, Pidge.” Shiro reiterated, “You can’t give up now. I know it doesn’t look good and believe me, I’m worried about them too. But I need you to use that big brain of yours right now. Your family needs you.”

An alarming blank look overtook Pidge’s face and Shiro felt his breath catch in his chest. He found his gaze being drawn directly to the starburst shaped scar in the center of Pidge’s forehead and his blood ran cold.

This was what Lance had mentioned. The souvenir of Pidge’s foray into the hive mind.

Her head cocked to the side and she raised the fabric in her hands closer to her face, peering at it curiously. “Druids.” She said absently, “They’ve been known to frequent the outer rings. Something about unconquered systems and the plentiful for their work.”

“Unconquered systems?” Shiro prodded, a part of him hesitant to embrace this odd precognisance but understanding its usefulness.

After all this, they would need to sit Pidge down and determine exactly what had happened in that grand chamber.

“There are few of them left, we know.” Pidge hummed, “But children of the stars are clever and can determine where the Lions’ captors are lurking.”

This whole situation unnerved Shiro more than he would ever be able to truly admit. The voice coming from Pidge now only resembled her’s in sound. The tone and patterning were all off and it sent a shiver down Shiro’s spine. Add in the metaphors and symbolism and all Shiro could think of was alarms.

They needed to hurry. For the sake of all the Paladins.

~~~~

“I’ve never even heard of Hyvanich.” Beryl sniffed, “How could the Paladins have tracked you down on a planet so out of the way?”

“The Paladins of Voltron are led by an Altean Princess.” The veiled woman sniffed dismissively, “Before Zarkon destroyed their planet they were known for their great exploration of the universe and their powers of quintessence manipulation. If anyone could find a planet, it would be them.”

“Alteans? Really?” The bartender snorted, “I don’t know if I can believe that.”

“You can believe the tale of a gigantic robot made up of five smaller robots but the idea of a dead race pushes the limits of your skepticism?” Dantanelle chuckled, propping his head up with the tips of his fingers.

“I still barely believe in the concept of Voltron. Even your stories aren’t really helping dissuade the image of him as a child’s tale.” The bartender shrugged, “You could easily be making up your stories in an effort to gain more renown for the injuries you’re all currently suffering from. Or to keep you from looking like utter fools in front of others.”

“Having such a skeptical judge is quite the hardship.” Amaladis sighed, “Is there truly nothing that would encourage you to believe our tales?”

“I haven’t heard all of them just yet.” The bartender sighed, still for the first time in hours as one rush seemed to be drawing to an end.

It astounded Dantanelle just how popular this single bar seemed to be. As far as he knew, it had only really been around for a few months and only ever had this one particular bartender manning it.

The mystery was intriguing and certainly part of the allure as far as he could tell.

Not to mention, this bartender had almost been curiously attentive to their small group. All for a contest that had no stated prize.

It was _interesting._

And Dantanelle could never resist interesting things.

~~~~

By the time that Shiro and Pidge had returned to the Castle, Pidge had long since succumbed to the exhaustion her previous fit had incurred. It didn’t make Shiro feel any better and gave him entirely too much time with the quiet of his own mind, but it did make it easier to return Pidge to her rooms and seek out Allura and Coran.

The two Alteans in question awaited him in the bridge, faces drawn and shoulders tense. “How much did you hear?” He asked, needing to know how much more he was going to have to rehash.

How much of Lance’s abduction was he going to have to relive? Bright, cocky Lance who would never once think of his own safety in the face of someone else’s. The Lance who took a shot for the Paladin he saw as a little sister without so much as a blink.

The Castle seemed so much more imposing without the others. Hunk’s warmth, Lance’s noise and Keith’s gentle, watchful presence. Shiro could feel the guilt creeping up the back of his throat, worry and tension making his chest feel so tight that he thought he might crack under the pressure.

Allura only gave him a soft look before guiding him to sit beside her, Coran sitting in one of the Paladin’s chairs, head buried in his hands. “We heard everything that you did.” Allura murmured, her hand on his shoulder serving as a guide, the single point of contact giving him something to concentrate on in the wake of everything that had happened.

He was grateful to her for it, so grateful for her presence and counsel. It made his heart ache.

“We also heard the altercation between you and Pidge.” She continued, voice low and soothing, “You did the right thing, Shiro. Lance and the others wouldn’t blame you for your decision. Especially when they would have done the same thing to protect her.”

“I left him behind, Allura.” Shiro ground out, clenching his Galra hand so hard that the joints creaked, “I didn’t think to check where he was. I was so focused on extracting Pidge. Once I heard that someone had tried to kill her again, I just…panicked.”

“Shiro, you can’t blame yourself for that. You aren’t much older than the rest of them.” Coran said wearily, his bright eyes red-rimmed and tired, “And we’ve all made a great deal of mistakes since Hunk was lost. We’ve let grief and panic overtake us. And we keep losing each other over it. Perhaps…if we’d known then what this would do, we would have been able to support each other better, but it’s no use wishing for the past.”

“I’m supposed to be responsible for them.” Shiro huffed, letting a little bit filter through the rational mask he’d pulled over his emotions to comfort Pidge, “And I let that form a rift between us. I just wanted to keep them all safe and now…I only managed to save one of them. A part of me can’t help but think that Pidge was right. I let duty cloud my vision.”

“You know that isn’t true, Shiro.” Allura said sharply, the tone of her voice catching Shiro’s attention so quickly that he felt a sort of emotional whiplash, “You care about them. You care about us. You care about all of us so much. If you didn’t care, this wouldn’t bother you so much. And you were correct when you comforted Pidge. We will get them back. There can be no doubt in your heart. These Paladins may be your team but Team Voltron is a family as well. And we will leave no one else behind.”

A warmth welled in Shiro’s chest at Allura’s words and he let his hand fall atop of hers, fingers squeezing gently. “You’re right.”

“I think that’s the first time you’ve called the Paladins family, Princess.” Coran sniffled, turquoise eyes tearing up once more.

Allura immediately flushed and turned her head to the side. “They’ve grown on me. I can’t help it.” Her voice softened as she went on, her body leaning against Shiro’s as they sat beside one another, “I miss them too and I will admit that I fear for them every minute that they are away from us. We’ve been reckless and I am so afraid for them. It’s hard to even know where to start.”

Shiro frowned at her words and looked up, locking his gaze with Coran’s tearful one. “Did you guys hear us when we went back down to the Palace?”

“I’m afraid not, my boy. Did something else happen?” Coran queried, raising one ginger brow as he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and blew his nose like a foghorn.

“Pidge had another…episode.” Shiro hesitated, unsure how to phrase it, “Whatever happened back on Guirguis has really messed with her head but she was right. The Cizanthians did have ties to the Druids. When we were in the ruins, she said something about the Druids having a base on an unconquered planet. It wasn’t as specific as last time but maybe we could work off of that.”

“Her episodes are beginning to concern me. Even if the information is correct, we have no idea what effect this is having on Pidge’s brain. She’s in the middle of her maturity phase for your species and I’m afraid what this will do to her future development.” Coran grimaced, “It didn’t help that she and Lance were loath to be separated after Guirguis. It made it difficult to get a good scan of her brainwaves.”

"I'll make sure you get a good scan, Coran." Shiro promised, "But is it something that we can work off of?"  
  
Allura pursed her lips, the concentration on her face striking Shiro as adorable before he shook the thought away, feeling heat at the tips of his ears.  
  
This wasn't the time to be thinking like that. He needed to focus.  
  
"It may be possible. While Zarkon has had 10,000 years to build his empire, the Universe is vast. There could be any number of planets he simply hasn't encountered yet."  
  
"Pidge only said that they were unconquered." Shiro added, "There would have to be some kind of link between the Galra and the planet if the druids are using it as a base."  
  
Coran nodded along enthusiastically, a light of understanding in his eyes. "We could look to the fringes of the Empire and examine those planets."  
  
"We may also be able to scan them for signs of druidic quintessence." Allura said, excitement and hope coloring her voice, "We can do this."  
  
"When Pidge wakes, we'll join you." Shiro smiled, the toll of the day finally catching up to him.  
  
The Alteans gave him a cursory once over and exchanged a look before Coran clicked his tongue. "I don't want to see either of you on this bridge for at least twelve vargas. I know Number Five hasn't gotten any rest and neither have you, Shiro. We need you both as sharp as tacks when we plan our assault."  
  
Allura inclined her head at her advisor’s words, a gentle smile aimed in Shiro's direction.  
  
"Rest, Shiro. You have done enough." She ordered, her voice fond and soothing, "Trust in us."  
  
Shiro could do nothing more than obey.  
  
With tired legs and a weary soul, he trudged to his chambers, stopping only once to remove the thick panels of his soot-stained armor. He collapsed into his bunk face first, so physically and mentally exhausted that he slipped into a fitful sleep the moment his head hit the pillow.  
  
It wasn't long after that the dreams started.  
  
Ever since his time with the Galra, that horrifying lost year of his life, he'd had trouble sleeping. His dormant mind would assail him with the suppressed memories of his captivity, an awful cascade of images, thoughts, and feelings.  
  
It was enough to make him question his grasp on sanity at times.  
  
But tonight was different.  
  
It wasn't scenes of an alien arena that haunted his psyche, the blood of another race coating his hands. Instead he was accosted by familiar faces and broken bodies, blame in their eyes and venom on their lips.  
  
_"A fool's endeavor, Champion."_  
  
He jerked upright in his bed at last, body trembling and limbs coated in a cold sweat.  
  
A timid knock at his door had his Galra hand glowing, body immediately tensing to fight off his intruder before he forced himself to relax, deep breaths lifting his chest in an effort to calm his thunderous heart. He shuffled to the door and it whooshed open, a glassy eyed Pidge stepping awkwardly side to side in the darkened hallway.  
  
"Pidge?" He mumbled, the uneasy look on her face doing more than its fair share to pull him from the grasping tendrils of his nightmare, "What's wrong?"  
  
"I'm sorry." She breathed, her voice breaking half-way through, "I'm so sorry to wake you up but I dreamt you were gone too and Shiro, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have said that crap to you earlier."  
  
He caught her as she stumbled forward, the last vestiges of her own nightmare finally pushing her over the edge into shuddering sobs. Letting one hand rest on her shaggy hair, he wrapped the other arm around her tightly.  
  
Shiro could _understand_.  
  
Gently, he picked her up, letting her sniffle into his shoulder as he padded into the kitchen. He didn't know how long it had been since he'd last eaten and his stomach was quick to remind him of its own emptiness as well.  
  
He had found that a full stomach often made even the worst nightmares a little more bearable, especially when some of them featured hunger beyond anything he had ever experienced on Earth.  
  
As they ate, he let one hand rest on her back, rubbing in small circles as she tucked in.  
  
There wasn't much he could think of to say but his presence seemed to be enough to calm her.  
  
They finally ended up in one of the rec rooms, a strange Altean soap opera providing a soft hum of background noise. Pidge curled up on the couch beside him, small hiccups lifting her chest from where she had been crying.  
  
"Why do you all keep trying so hard to protect me?" She asked at last, "I've been able to take care of myself in the past. I've done far more dangerous things for Voltron before. I just...I don't understand."  
  
Shiro sighed and rubbed Pidge's back as he let his head rest against the back of the couch, the lateness of the hour and his own weariness effective murdering any pretenses he had of acting like an adult.  
  
He was only 23.  
  
And he was so tired.  
  
"I can't speak for the others, but you're family, Pidge." Shiro murmured, his eyes drifting closed, "As a leader, I know you're capable of some amazing things but as family, I don't want to see you hurt. Visuals are difficult to overcome and you're so small. It’s hard to look at the size of our enemies and not worry. Most Galra tower over me so when I see them around you..."  
  
Pidge looked at him intently as he spoke before she grumbled and curled back into his side, "Keith is barely bigger than me."  
  
"I worry about him too. He just tends to rush into danger a lot faster than you do."  
  
A snort escaped the teenager at his side and he smiled, already feeling himself drift off, Pidge's slight weight warm against his side.  
  
This time, his sleep remained dreamless.  
  
~~~~  
  
"It was almost like a dream when the great Black Lion landed upon my humble domain." Dantanelle grinned, the sheer memory almost enough to steal his breath away, "It was a monstrous ship, enormous and fiercely beautiful all in one. They just don't make warships like that anymore."  
  
The others around the table, sans Korvar and the veiled woman, nodded along with his words, their expression shifting as they relieved their own experiences with the Lions of Voltron.  
  
"So he had a big ship." The bartender drawled, "We all know someone like that. Almost always compensating for something."

A few people snorted in the corners of the room while a hooded man in the back corner choked almost violently, the bartender’s words sending a titter through the room. “What was it that made the Black Paladin the most dangerous, Dantanelle?” The bartender continued, “Go on with your story. You were so good at coaxing the stories from the others.”

“Yeah.” Korvar brayed, “Enough with your stalling, tell us the tale!”

Irritation creeping into his prior amusement, Dantanelle complied.

~~~~

Shiro’s trust in the Alteans paid off.

In the twelve vargas that he and Pidge had been banned from the bridge, Coran and Allura had combed the fringes of Zarkon’s empire, compiling data and finally coming up with a list of planets that had the best probability of hosting the druid base.

As Shiro padded through the door, an energized and determined Pidge in tow, the two were bent low over another screen, rapid lines of Altean flying across it as they spoke intently. He cleared his throat gently and they startled, looking up at the two remaining Paladins in alarm before their expressions eased.

“It’s good to see the two of you looking better.” Coran said gently, his eyes warm.

“We’re pleased to relay that we have narrowed it down to a few planets based on the hints that we got from Pidge.” Allura added, smiling at Pidge before turning her gaze to Shiro, the emotions within her two toned eyes making heat dance at the tips of his ears.

“You two certainly work fast.” Shiro coughed, ignoring the mischievous wiggle of Pidge’s eyebrows as she stood beside him, “Maybe we can help to narrow it down a bit more.”

“I could look at it.” Pidge offered hesitantly, “I don’t know exactly what triggers whatever I picked up back on Guirguis but I wasn’t wrong about the Cizanthians.”

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea to try using it too much, Pidge.” Shiro frowned, “We don’t know what effect it’s having on your own mind.”

“If it helps us find the others, l don’t care, Shiro.” Pidge grumbled, “We can worry about all that when we have them back.”

Shiro sighed deeply, biting back the comments he wished to make. He wanted her to worry more about herself but after their conversation last night and the way the other Paladins had completely disregarded their own safety to see to hers, it would be almost hypocritical.

And he had no doubt that Pidge would call him on it.

Sometimes it wasn’t worth it to fight some battles. He would give her this one.

She nodded at him before striding over to where Allura had pulled up a tablet of her list, a little uneasiness clear in the Princess’s face. “There are about ten planets that we have pulled up, from least to most likely in terms of holding the druidic base.” Allura explained, her frown deepening even more as Pidge’s expression went blank.

Her hand immediately pointed to an entry about midway down Allura’s list and the Princess peered over her shoulder. “Hyvanich?” She murmured, “It was one I wouldn’t have suspected to be sure but it does have decent levels of druidic quintessence emanating from it.”

“The children of the rift will be waiting.” Pidge said quietly, Allura’s spine going ramrod straight at the words.

“The children of the rift?” She whispered, a fear in her eyes that unsettled Shiro greatly.

“Yes the-ow, fuck.” Pidge winced, one hand going to the starburst shaped scar on her forehead and rubbing, “That hurt. That hurt a lot.”

“You should probably take it easy on interacting with the hive mind there, Number Five.” Coran tutted, already readying the control panel in front of him, “We have a destination now, Princess.”

Allura hesitated for a moment, meeting Shiro’s eyes from across the room before she seemed to shake herself. “You are correct. So now we need to come up with a plan.” She said intently, “The times before these we’ve been lax with our planning and that’s what keeps losing us paladins. We shall leave nothing to chance this time.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Pidge smirked, “Go ahead and wormhole over there so we can do scans. I’m ready to get our family back.”

Shiro couldn’t help but smile as the three of them leapt into action, the Castle more animated than it had been in what felt like months. They had a direction, they had a plan and they had motivation.

They were going to get their family back.

~~~~

“The Black Lion landing on Hyvanich was only the first of many signs of the Paladins’ presence.” Dantanelle sneered, memories making a scowl twitch at the corner of his mouth, “They had planned well. Security measures went down, droids went haywire. It was a concentrated attack.”

“That does sound more like what I would expect from the pilots of a legendary robot.” The bartender chuckled.

~~~~

Shiro met the ground of the nearly barren planet with ease, Black’s paws landing smoothly. Pidge stood beside him, an almost vicious glee in her face as she clicked the receiver in her hand. Immediately the base in front of them went dark, alarms sounding throughout the entirety of the building.

It had been a long few days of planning but in the end, it was already proving to be worth it. Allura and Pidge had scanned the planet hundreds of times from their hiding spot behind its shattered moon and Pidge had managed to piggyback off the weak signals of the Galra base. From there, it had been almost too easy for her to worm her way into their mainframe and set up a remote switch capable of wreaking holy havoc within the base itself.

They still had no way of knowing precisely what awaited them within but it was better than what they’d had before. The enemy would be flying blind and they would have the advantage. If all went well, they could be in and out before the system recovered.

“There are a huge number of lifeforms being held in the left side of the base.” Pidge reported, her eyes skating over the virtual keyboard she had integrated into her suit, “If the others are anywhere, that would be the most likely place.”

“Keep scanning. We don’t want to take any chances.” Shiro ordered, letting his eyes move over the base critically.

All things considered, it was a poorly defended base, definitely not something that Zarkon would have thought to conceal from Voltron’s notice. Which struck Shiro as odd, he was startlingly dependent on his druids. If they had a base, wouldn’t it have the highest caliber of security? Or was he that confident in the druids’ own abilities to defend themselves?

With their agility and powers of quintessence manipulation, it was nigh impossible to fight a druid on even standing. It made Shiro’s stomach curl with dread. They still didn’t know what awaited them inside.

“I’m also seeing some evidence of lifeforms on the right side. They’re very faint. Possibly concealed behind something that could be interfering with my scans.” Pidge relayed, urgency coloring her voice, “It looks like there’s three of them, Shiro.”

“We need to be calm about this Pidge.” Shiro breathed, fighting with his own emotions as he looked to the right side of the base, “We’ll make our first stop on the right side but we can’t ignore the people on the left. There could be a lot of refugees in there who need our help.”

Pidge nodded quickly, the bird-like motion not lost on Shiro. She reminded him a lot of a small bird to be completely honest.

“Is everything good on your end, Coran?” Shiro called, the ginger haired man’s hummed affirmative releasing a measure of tension from his shoulders.

They’d planned as much as they could.

He and Pidge would infiltrate under the cover of the havoc Pidge unleashed and hopefully track down their friends. They wouldn’t have long until the technicians on the base managed to find her mess and shut it down. After that, Coran and Allura would stage an assault not far from the base to cover their escape and the escape of whomever they were able to find.

It was almost like the other missions that they had flown for Voltron in the past but their missing three were felt keenly. The banter before missions was absent and it made Shiro ache. He wanted his friends back, his brothers, his comrades in arms.

He didn’t realized just how much until now.

It was sobering.

Steeling himself, he nodded to Pidge and followed the slight form of the Green Paladin out of Black’s mouth and up to the entrance of the base itself. He kept a wary eye out as Pidge busted open a panel, fingers twisting wires together with an ease that spoke of years of practice.

Which was also kind of concerning. What had she gotten up to on Earth that she had that kind of expertise with dismantling panels and infiltrating computer systems?

…She had managed to break into the Garrison a few times.

A small noise of triumph escaped her as the doors open and Shiro trailed behind the soft patter of her footsteps. The inside of the building certainly resembled the Galra facilities he was used to but it seemed…off somehow.

He pressed the oppressive thoughts down and let Pidge lead the way, a holographic map of the base projected in front of her. “Does this feel a little weird in here to you?” Pidge whispered, her eyes darting around corners anxiously.

“Yes.” Shiro responded immediately, chills prickling down his spine.

They made their way through the overly loud base, the scream of alarms masking the unnatural quietness of the hallways. There was no one here.

No guards to block the way. Not even any evidence of ones having left in a hurry.

Something wasn’t right.

A click of thick soled shoes echoed in front of them and an alien rounded the corner, his beady eyes lighting up as his gaze fell upon them. He was tall and thin with limbs that reminded Shiro of a spider. He grinned widely, unnaturally sharp teeth stretching his mouth much farther than what should have been possible. “Well, well, well.” He hummed, his voice sibilant and slimy, “What have we here?”

~~~~

“I stumbled across them. Creatures unlike any that I had seen before.” Dantanelle hummed, “Of course, it wasn’t long until I recognized the Champion. I made quite a pretty penny off him after all. In the early fights, to be sure. After he started winning, no one wanted to bet against him.”

Korvar grumbled under his breath and the bartender barked out a sharp laugh. “Make that mistake?”

“Anyone in their right mind would have bet against him. That shrimp never should have won against the type of monsters Zarkon throws in his ring.” Korvar snapped, crossing his arms over his thick chest.

“Truly a race like no other.” The veiled woman breathed, bandaged hands clasped primly.

“That race is called Human.” Amaladis added helpfully.

“Humans.” Dantanelle said considerably, “I think we can come to expect marvelous things from them.”

~~~~

“It is my lucky day, isn’t it?” The thin man laughed lowly, the tone of his voice making every instinct Shiro had scream, “A full load of new blood and then the Champion falls right into my lap. Zarkon would pay out the nose to get you back. Haggar too, if the rumors are to be believed.”

“Who are you?” Shiro demanded, suppressing a full body shudder at the very mention of that witch’s name.

“Most people know me as Dantanelle.” The man simpered, “But Zarkon knows me as his collector. And what a spread his arena is going to taste today!”

Ice flooded Shiro’s veins at Dantanelle’s words, tendrils of panic swirling along the edges of his consciousness. This…this was a slaver. A monster responsible for kidnapping and selling others to Zarkon for the horror that was the Galra Empire’s arena.

He wanted to scream, to rail, to _rend_ this monster limb from limb. Something must have shown on his face because the thin man only laughed, pretending to shake off a shiver. “There’s that fire. That thirst for blood. It’s what made you so great. I can’t wait to see you in action once more.”

The man ahead of them snapped his fingers and the walls _shuddered_ , the alarms silencing in an instant. “Now, where were we? It’s so hard to really talk when all the alarms in my base are blaring in my ears.”

Shiro cast a look to the small Paladin at his side, quickly noting the calculating cast to her eyes before he returned his gaze to the monster before them.

It only made it worse that he was so nondescript. Almost humanoid, if not for the strange length to his limbs and luminescent cast to his skin.

Without warning, Pidge launched forward, her bayard already humming with energy as it swung through the air. Shiro couldn’t even react fast enough to stop her, his hand raising in a half aborted action. As he watched, the green triangle hooked a nondescript panel in the ceiling above Dantanelle and sparked violently, making all three of them duck for a moment.

A shower of sparks rained from the ceiling cutting off the path between Shiro and Dantanelle, the thin man looking displeased at the interruption before his unsettling gaze finally turned to the small Paladin in his path.

“Shiro, go!” She urged, “If we split up, we’ll have a better chance.”

“Pidge, this wasn’t the plan!”

“Murphy’s Law, Shiro!” Pidge growled, pulling her bayard back to her side, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Screw the plan!”

She took off in the opposite direction before he could stop her, the thin man looking after her with an uncomfortable amount of interest, his path forward cut off from the fountain of sparks that rained from the panel above him. “An intelligent one. _Interesting.”_

”Stay away from her.” Shiro snarled, the words ripping themselves from his chest even as he turned to run down the hallway that Pidge had been leading them towards earlier.

“I’m afraid you aren’t the one giving the orders anymore, Champion.” Dantanelle taunted, “Or should I say, Black Paladin? I wonder which version of you would be more valuable to Zarkon?”

“You’ll never find out.” Shiro promised, forcing gaze away from the slaver.

He had to believe in Pidge. They had lost the others because they had chosen to focus on what they _saw_ rather than what they _knew._ Pidge was capable, more so than many others that Shiro had trained with in the past.

He had to have faith that she would be okay.

The hallway he was on seemed to lead him in circles, all the panels and lights looking exactly the same no matter where he looked. His skin prickled with unease and he clenched his fists tightly as he ran.

This entire situation was like a scene from the nightmares that plagued his sleep.

Alone. In a base he doesn’t know. Galra, yet not. And worried beyond belief for the people who were important to him.

“Pidge! Status Report!” He ordered, his own voice overly loud in the silence that replaced the blare of the alarms.

Static greeted him in lieu of a response and he thought his heart would stop, panic filling him so quickly that his jogging came to a stop.

The slaver couldn’t have caught up to her so quickly, right? Pidge was fast and crafty.

_“So were many of those you slaughtered in the ring, Champion.”_

He turned to face the way he came, protective instincts at war with his mission. His team, his family needed him!

Did he continue forward where the boys _might be_ or backwards to where Pidge _could be_ in trouble?

“Fuck!” Came a tinny voice over the coms and Shiro couldn’t even think to scold her for her language over the sheer visceral relief that flowed over him.

“What’s going on?” He demanded, resuming his forward progress.

She was okay.

“Shiro, there are so many prisoners here.” She replied, a cacophony of sound in the background, “I don’t know where they’re headed but they’re terrified.”

“They’re being sent to the arena.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive.”

Pidge swore violently once more before blowing a heavy breath into her coms. “I won’t let them. I have an idea, Shiro. Its gonna make a big mess and I don’t know when I’ll make it to where you are…”

“Go, Pidge.” Shiro smiled, finally seeing a doorway at the end of his ever-circling hallway, “Be the hero.”

She snorted at that and Shiro could almost see the wild grin on her face.

“Sure. You go bring our family home. I’ll funnel the prisoners to the Black Lion. Her cargo hold should just be big enough to get them all.”

“On it.” He returned, a measure of clarity returning to his panicked mind.

The plan had changed in execution but the end goal remained the same.

Shiro skidded to a stop in front of the large door at the end of the hall, eyes searching for a way through it. His gaze landed upon a scanner and he slammed his Galra hand down atop of it, a helpful chirp coming from the machine before the door slid open.

A bubble like sound echoed from within the darkened room and Shiro stepped inside hesitantly, hand already glowing.

His movement triggers the sensors and light flooded the room. IT was bigger than he had originally thought, stretching on much further than he would have imagined. He gazed out over the rows and rows of glass tubes that filled the gargantuan space and tasted bile on his tongue.

He _remembered_ these.

Flashes of unbidden memory froze his limbs, breath coming short.

Blurry _figures_ outside the glass _._ Indistinct voices talking just above a whisper. Always _Champion_. Always crooning sweet words of victory and destruction to his ears.

Pain. Burning, tearing, shredding. A lightness at his side. A void where his arm should be, phantom itches at the tip of his fingers.

Water yet not at his feet. Smell too sweet, feeling too thick against his skin.

Can’t get out, can’t get out, _can’t get out._

_“This is for the greater good, Champion.”_

Shiro lashed out in his panic, the nearest tank exploding in a mess of glass and the almost rotten smelling sweet liquid within.

The mess spilled out all over the aisle, liquid coming to cover his shoes and a desiccated specimen from within gliding across the floor.

Sensory overload overwhelmed him and lurched to the side, retching violently.

He had to find them.

~~~~

“While ultimately, the Black Paladin spelled my downfall, Green served as the greatest and most interesting irritation I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with.” Dantanelle sighed, “Not only did they cut off my means of following behind the Champion, they threw my base into utter chaos.”

“That little shrimp gave you so much trouble?” Korvar guffawed, yet another tankard sitting in front of him, “Maybe we overestimated you.”

“There are different types of strength.” Amaladis counseled, “The Hive wanted Green for their mind.”

“And what a mind it was.” Dantanelle purred, “Singlehandedly hacked into my security mainframe even with my pursuit. She unlocked every cage and turned every prisoner into an obstacle to be overcome.”

“Green set the prisoners on you?” Beryl frowned, “That doesn’t sound very upstanding. I thought these Paladins were supposed to be paragons of helping others.”

“Perhaps they weren’t listening to this Green Paladin.” The bartender suggested, an irritation in his words, “You did claim to enslave them after all.”

Amaladis nodded sagely at the bartender’s observation before turning his eyes back to Dantanelle, “Surely that couldn’t have been everything.”

“Indeed.” Dantanelle laughed, “The crafty child managed to lure me into an emptied cage and took off with my captives. Try as I might, I was too intrigued to take her seriously.”

“I’m surprised you’ve lived this long.” Korvar whistled, “Too intrigued to take an enemy seriously.”

Ignoring the cretin, Dantanelle leaned back in his chair, “I didn’t tarry long. The cells would never hold one of my… _talents_ for long. It was then that I followed the Green one.”

“And she let me right to the Champion.”

~~~~

He was so close!

Row upon row had disappeared beneath the pounding of his feet but at last he could see them, three deceptively small tubes lit up from beneath, familiar faces floating serenely within.

He pushed harder, his body flying down the row, an urgency under his skin lighting a fire at the center of his being.

They were right there.

Close enough to reach out and touch. Faces lax with chemical sleep but otherwise unharmed.

Not sick or starving or any of the other multitude of possibilities that had plagued his mind from the moment Hunk had disappeared.

He could bring them _home_ at last.

Feet sliding across the floor from the liquid that had splashed over them, Shiro skidded past his teammates’ tubes, his momentum throwing him to the floor for an instant before he was rolling back to his feet and pausing in front of the middle tube, an unnatural calmness in Keith’s face.

It wasn’t right to see Keith so still. To see Lance so quiet. To see Hunk so withdrawn.

Desperately, he searched for a mechanism to free them. He didn’t know how long they’d been held in stasis but it made panic threaten to choke him.

Had to get them out. _Had to get them out._

Burning.

                        Tearing.

                                                Lightness.

Water yet not.

Protect the boys. Protect Pidge. Protect the Castle-.

A half-muffled shout and the sounds of a scuffle caught his attention and he turned his head slowly, limbs trembling under the weight of his episode.

At the end of the row, Pidge struggled against the slaver as he had one long fingered hand clasped tightly over her mouth while the other twisted her arm behind her.

“I had a feeling you would lead me right to him, little one.” Dantanelle snarled, “You’ve cost me quite the haul with that stunt of yours. But it’s no matter. Once I turn the two of you over to Zarkon, I’ll get it all back and more. The Galra will pay handsomely for the Green Paladin of Voltron and their beloved Champion.”

Shiro felt his body move before he consciously thought, a cold rage building under his skin akin to those moments before the first arena fight.

The moment he had brutally attacked his own best friend to save his life.

And now…now Matt’s little sister was in trouble.

Shiro’s vision went red.

~~~~

“So you taunted the Champion.” The bartender said dryly, “You taunted an infamous gladiator from one of Zarkon’s arenas. The rumored toy of his witch.”

“When you put it like that he does sound like a dipshit.” Beryl cackled, her scarred hand smacking against the table.

Dantanelle only scowled.

Let them laugh. This competition was his.

~~~~

He was moving before he could blink, a roar torn from his chest.

The thin man only smirked, Pidge’s struggles renewing in earnest as he neared them. His Galra hand blazed in the bright lights of the room, the glow reflected strangely in the tubes that surrounded them.

He swung at Pidge’s captor, his hand missing the fluffy tips of her hair by millimeters as he went for the man behind her.

It was a swift attack and he prepared himself for the feeling of rending flesh. The slaver was unarmored, unprotected and Shiro’s Galra hand was more than capable of rending a sentry in two, let alone a simple alien.

But the feeling never came.

What had once been the slaver’s shoulder was now nothing but smoke, a haze of color identical to the rest of his clothing surrounding Shiro’s hand.

“That looked like it would have hurt.” Dantanelle drawled, taking advantage of Shiro’s shock to plant a foot in his midsection.

There was a hidden strength in the man before him and Shiro found himself thrown back, body sliding across the tiles all the way back to where his boys slumbered on, unaware of the fight raging near them.

Shiro lashed out as he slid past, Galra tech hand slicing through the machinery beneath the tubes like butter.

Alarms immediately began to sound a liquid slowly drained from the tanks and sensors failed. Shiro pulled himself to his feet and faced off with the thin man once again.

He needed to focus, to think.

_Patience._

~~~~

“You can turn into smoke?!” Maltis gasped, the awe on his face making Dantanelle preen.

“It is an attribute of his race.” Amaladis added helpfully.

“I’m sure it’s a real boon in your line of work.” Beryl sneered, her obvious hostility not even fazing Dantanelle.

“You would be surprised at how often it comes in handy.” Dantanelle bragged, basking in the attention.

“Clearly it isn’t infallible, or you wouldn’t be sporting the metal.” The bartender interjected, making Dantanelle scowl.

“You are correct.” He huffed, “It seemed that the Champion was more than simply brute force.”

~~~~

There was always a weakness. A gun would need to reload or recharge. A sword could grow dull.

A fighter would eventually grow tired.

Shiro had to think. Even an ability like Dantanelle’s would have to have a weakness or draw back. _Everything had to have a weakness._

But with the way he was holding Pidge captive, it would nigh impossible to figure it out without needlessly endangering her.

Shiro would sooner dive into fire himself than knowingly endanger his team.

So his first step would be to recover Pidge and _fast_. The boys would be free soon and he had to make sure that it would be safe for them to be recovered.

Nothing would be safe if this slaver stuck around.

He charged once more, using his speed to try and maneuver behind the slaver. It would be easier to avoid hitting Pidge that way. He swung and suppressed a hiss of frustration when he struck nothing but smoke.

Dantanelle danced around, using his hold on Pidge to swing her legs into him. He managed to block the weak hit and slashed at the arm the slaver was using to keep Pidge silenced.

It too turned to smoke and Pidge began to cough violently, using the moment to lurch away from her captor.

~~~~

“I wasn’t prepared for her to continue to fight back. She’d been coughing so badly after inhaling the smoke, it was like she was trying to expel her own organs.” Dantanelle sighed, steepling his fingers together in front of him, “It was a mistake to take my eyes off the Black Paladin for even a moment.”

~~~~

He saw his opening. And he acted.

Glowing purple Galra tech darted into the space between Dantanelle and Pidge, the druid crafted weapon gliding through Dantanelle’s arm with only the slightest snag of resistance.

Pidge lurched forward without the resistance and face planted, her violent coughs partially muffled by the floor beneath her. Dantanelle howled, the sound so visceral and pained that Shiro could feel it down to the marrow of his bones. He clutched the bleeding stump of his arm to his chest, a fierce anger and hatred burning in his eyes.

Shiro stepped between the injured slaver and Pidge, shoulders and arms still tensed for battle. “I told you not to touch her.” Shiro snarled, advancing on the still whimpering man.

“I won’t forget this, Champion.” The slaver replied, vanishing before Shiro could reach him, only a mass of smoke left in his place.

The smoke dispersed immediately and for a moment, all Shiro could hear was the thunderous pounding o his heart, his limbs trembling with pent up energy.

Surely it couldn’t be that easy.

~~~~

“He cut off your hand.” Korvar blanched, swallowing roughly.

“The arena truly made him quite the fearsome creature.” The veiled woman sniffed dismissively, “If not for his sense of duty, he might have become a true monster. Perhaps we should thank Voltron if only for saving us from what he would have become.”

The bartender only frowned, staring Dantanelle down with unblinking reptilian eyes. “What about after that? Surely you didn’t let that stand.”

“As much as I wish I could say that I used my smoke as a distraction, I don’t wish to lie.” Dantanelle said bitterly, “I ran. I was already missing a hand. If he’d wanted to find me to finish the job, it wouldn’t have been difficult. I was spared, though for what reason I know not. He was ready to kill me in that room.”

“Speaking of that room, what the _hell_ were you doing to people that you needed some kind of lab?” Beryl demanded, her fists clenched tightly.

“I’d never seen that room in all my time stationed on that base.” Dantanelle shrugged, “When working for Zarkon, it becomes best not to ask too many questions. You live longer that way.”

“So you managed to escape from the Black Paladin.” The bartender nodded, “Without putting a scratch on him.”

“They didn’t name him Champion for nothing.” Dantanelle grumbled, “It’s no matter. Whatever else was in that room with him is gone with him.”

“Gone?”

“After I escaped, my base simply vanished as if it had never existed in the first place.”

~~~~

Silence reigned as Shiro waited for the other shoe to drop, the sneak attack, the low blow. But after a few moments, he let himself relax and return to Pidge’s side, her coughing fit finally starting to abate.

“Are you okay?” He asked, unable to keep a note of urgency from his voice.

“I have honestly been better but I’ll live.” Pidge said hoarsely, “I don’t know what is in that smoke but it feels like sandpaper had a dance party all over the back of my throat.”

“Inhaling smoke in general will do that to you, Pidge.” Shiro smiled, helping her to her feet, “I found them.”

She perked up immediately, hope shining in her eyes. “You did! Where are they?”

“They’re at the end of this row.”

They both looked to the end of the row, only to freeze. Ice sank in Shiro’s chest and he unconsciously tightened the grip he had on Pidge’s shoulder.

Druids. There were druids in the facility.

_“Hold still, Champion. You will be our greatest weapon.”_

“Shiro, is that where the others are?”

“Yes.”

A half aborted sob pulled itself from her throat and she swayed dangerously beside him. “They’re right there.”

The druids at the end of the hall looked up and regarded them impassively for a moment before Shiro leapt into action, grabbing Pidge around the waist and taking off for the door.

There wasn’t any way to take them on as they were. He could still hear Pidge wheezing over his shoulder, her voice cracking and dissolving into coughs as she begged him to stop.

He had to take care of her. Even if he went back, he needed to make sure they wouldn’t have all of Voltron. It was selfish and irresponsible but… _they were right there._

“Shiro, no! We can’t leave them behind again! Please!”

“I’m going back for them.”

“Don’t do this. Let me help you!”

The run back to the front entrance seemed to take no time at all, even with a struggling Pidge on his shoulder. He flew over the broken ground, looking up to his Lion with all the pleading and coaxing he could manage. “Please, Black. Take her home. I have to go back.”

Shiro could feel Black’s understanding in the back of his head, as well as a wave of grief so intense that it threatened to making his knees buckle. She knew that the chances of him coming back out with the boys was low. But she understood.

The Pride took priority. The cubs needed to be rescued. Her sisters cried out for them, their grief almost overwhelming.

Black lowered her head and Shiro all but tossed Pidge inside, trusting his Lion to keep her from following behind him. He could hear the telltale click of metallic teeth shutting as well as Pidge’s shrieks from behind Black’s teeth before the enormous Lion launched herself in the air, the motion jerky and uncoordinated.

He didn’t let himself look back. He couldn’t.

Shiro ran back inside the building. It didn’t take long to come upon the druids and he let his arm blaze purple, anger welling up in him once more.

They had taken so much from him. They weren’t going to take any more without a fight.

It was a blur after that. A blur of black cloth and white masks with yellow glowing eyes. Punch, slash, kick, run. A never-ending flood of the same monsters that haunted his nightmares.

When they finally pushed him to his knees, the hall had run red with Galra blood.

They didn’t take him down with a fight. And they wouldn’t get Voltron without a fight.

He had protected the smallest of his Paladins and he believed in her. If anyone could do it, Pidge could. If anyone could track them down and take down the druids that had imprisoned them, she could.

Everything depended on her now.

~~~~

The bartender looked out over his emptying bar, chest aching the longer this competition went on.

So many stories. So many conflicting accounts. Pidge wanted to rant and rail and rave at these people before her. These aliens who had been the catalyst for her to lose them all.

But not yet. Soon. So very soon.

Coran padded from the bar at her signal, the group before her quiet for a moment as they took some time to digest Dantanelle’s story.

Of course until an alarm blared briefly a few streets beyond.

The bartender suppressed a snarl. They couldn’t mess this up.

Four down, one to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost there guys!  
> And I had so much stuff thrown at me for this chapter guys. My beta has dubbed me the "Bitch Goddess of Angst".  
> I may have enjoyed writing this a little too much.  
> Until next time!


	5. Pink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The exiled Queen Saftoliyir adds her story to the competition and Allura deals with the loss of her family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ho ho holy shit guys.  
> This ended up being like forty pages long.  
> And I regret absolutely nothing.

Beneath her veil, Saftoliyir could do nothing more than sneer at the peasants surrounding her. Their incompetence and pride were truly something to be pitied. It was almost enough to stir her cold heart to the emotion.

Almost.

It was bad enough that she had been reduced to seeking shelter in a bar, millions of miles from the planet that she should be rightfully ruling. Oh no, she was sheltering on the planet of misfits, the dregs of the society throughout the universe congregating around a rarely used base of the Galra Empire.

The soldiers tolerated the town that had sprung up, seedy though it was, because it provided entertainment and a haven for those willing to dirty their hands.

It was a far cry from Xandanir, that glorious planet she had found herself fleeing from.

Tenebrae and the Lions’ Den was only a temporary stop.

She swore it.

“So what about you?” The bartender spoke up at last, the cast to his eyes oddly familiar, “We’ve heard everyone’s tale but yours. And I’ve heard that Voltron has five Paladins. So who gave you those fun bandages?”

Saftoliyir barely suppressed a scoff as she propped her chin on one bandaged hand. “Five? And all dwindled to one pathetic girl by the time they got to me. I should have liked to meet the truly proficient Paladins of Voltron.” She laughed, “No. These wounds were given to me by Voltron’s Princess.”

“The Altean princess?” Dantanelle clarified, grimacing as Saftoliyir nodded, “A rough break, friend.”

“Why’s that?” The bartender asked evenly, a curious line of tension in his shoulders.

“Alteans as a race possessed superior physical abilities, particularly that of strength. To engage in a brawl with one is ill advised.” Amaladis explained, “Although, your injuries are not consistent with that particular line of thinking.”

“Voltron’s princess is a rare one. She can manipulate quintessence.” Saftoliyir hissed, “And I happened to push her to such extremes.”

“Weren’t Alteans supposed to be a peaceful race? How did you manage to piss one off bad enough to end up like…that?” Beryl said hesitantly, eyes tracing the thickly wrapped bandages, “Just how long ago did you fight her?”

A sigh escaped her and she curled her fingers tightly around the flute of alcohol in front of her. “Months ago.”

“And you still aren’t healed?” Maltis gaped, a similar expression crossing his sister’s face.

Saftoliyir couldn’t help but preen a bit under their attention. It had been such a long time since she’d been given the attention she was due, after all.

“Wounds inflicted by quintessence are slow to heal.” Amaladis murmured gravely, “You are lucky to live.”

“So, how did you come into contact with Voltron’s Princess anyway?” the bartender sighed, “Not to be rude, but you don’t seem much like the rest of this lot.”

Beryl opened her mouth to protest before huffing out a sigh and nodding. “He’s got a point.”

“Of course I’m different.” Saftoliyir scoffed, “ _I_ am a queen.”

Silence reigned for a moment before the rest of the table burst into laughter, the raucous and irritating noise making Saftoliyir bristle.

“A queen? In a place like this?” Korvar chortled, laughing so hard he threatened to fall from his chair.

The twins had collapsed onto the table, leaning against each other heavily as they tried to reel themselves back in. “We thought you might be some hoity-toity lady but a queen? No way!”

Saftoliyir simmered in her anger as they laughed themselves out, the bartender staring with his ever calculating eyes.

“She’s telling the truth.” He said at last, quiet words silencing the cackling fools.

“How do you know?” Dantanelle grinned, his flashing eyes daring her wrath.

“Body language.” The bartender shrugged, “You learn a lot about people in my profession. Besides. Wouldn’t be the weirdest thing I’ve heard tonight.”

A smug grin graced her face and she stared down her naysayers with disdain.

“Now that we’ve settled that issue, may I have your leave to continue my tale?” She asked sweetly, saccharine voice almost venomous.

The others could only nod.

“Excellent.” Saftoliyir began, “My face off with the princess was ignited by a very simple event, but one that was all the more complicated for its simplicity. I am a ruler in exile and I sought the great mental abilities of a child in need in order to put down the leaders of the rebels.”

Amaladis nodded along sagely, fingers clasped before him. “Green.”

“Indeed.” Saftoliyir sighed, “However, the princess disagreed with my methods. She disagreed quite vehemently.”

~~~~

Allura felt her blood go cold as the base before her vanished completely, an enormous quintessence signature reading on the scanners before it fizzled away to nothing, not even a blip to prove that it had existed.

It was just…gone.

Her Paladins were gone. Just like her planet, her people.

Just like her father.

There would be no more Voltron. No more hope for the universe.

She had failed.

And those beautiful humans, those sweet, caring souls who had embraced her as family, who had put up with her insane training regimen and other quirks.

She stumbled forward, hands leaving her pedestals as she crumpled to her knees, eyes still staring blankly at the space the base had previously occupied.

They were _gone._

Grief numbed her chest, her eyes overflowing.

They’d slipped through her fingers like sand, five bright lights dimming one by one while she had watched from the safety of the castle.

“Allura!” Coran shrieked, tear tracks marring his own face, “The Black Lion has returned to its hangar!”

A wild hope took hold of her heart and she sprinted from the bridge, adrenaline pushing her faster than she’d ever run before.

All was not lost!

It wasn’t long until she skidded into the Black Lion’s hangar, a growing crowd of rescued prisoners shuffling from the cargo bay, their faces alight with relief and awe.

Allura sidled past them gently, her gaze unerringly fixed on the Black Lion’s open mouth.

“Shiro? Pidge?” She called gently as she stepped inside, her heart squeezing painfully when she was greeted by silence.

She moved further in, deeply unsettled by the quiet. Her footsteps rang against the metal, eyes searching the darkness within desperately.

The hope in her heart threatened to crumble with every echoed step and her eyes swam with unshed tears.

At last, she made it to the cockpit and her heart sank like a stone at Pidge’s still figure, a blank look firmly set upon her face.

The Green Paladin was in shock.

“Pidge?” Allura tried quietly, Coran’s presence at her shoulder encouraging.

But the Green Paladin didn’t so much as tremble.

Cautiously, Allura stepped into the cockpit and knelt before the smallest Paladin, hand reaching out hesitantly. Pidge came back to herself violently from the small touch, golden eyes immediately filling with tears. “Allura?” She choked, throwing herself into Allura’s arms as soon as she registered her surroundings.

The force of it knocked Allura back and she clasped her arms around the other girl tightly.

She still had Pidge and Pidge still had her.

Their boys were missing and absolutely in the hands of the Galra but all was not lost.

They hadn’t managed to take all of them from her and Allura’s relief was _overwhelming_.

Allura’s own tears overflowed and she pulled Pidge to her chest as tightly as Pidge’s fragile bones would allow.

Her humans were so easy to hurt on accident. She couldn’t bear to think what the Galra could be doing to them at the moment.

The plan ahead could wait for a few moments more. An explanation could wait for a few moments more.

Right now, Allura needed to hold the smallest member of her family and grieve for those they had not been able to recover and for the one who had undoubtedly sacrificed himself for the prisoners and the sobbing Paladin in her arms.

It was too much and far, far too soon.

They cried together for a few minutes more, Coran’s hand on her shoulder serving to allow her deeper into her grief.

Why hadn’t she insisted on going with them like she had in the times before? She was no stranger to battle and risk…and yet.

Here she was, down to one grieved, hurting Paladin and her beloved advisor.

Hunk was gone. Keith was gone. Lance was gone. And now, Shiro…lovely, beautiful, honorable Shiro. _He was gone too._

“Allura. Pidge.” Coran said softly, almost unwilling to break the moment between them, “We need to see to the prisoners and then we need to figure out what we’re going to do next.”

“What can we do?” Pidge sniffed miserably, “They were right there and we couldn’t take them back! And now we don’t have any leads at all!”

“They are alive, then?” Allura said fiercely, pulling back so that she could look Pidge in the face.

“As far as I can tell, but-“

“Then there is still hope.” Allura sighed, letting Pidge curl against her shoulder once more, “We cannot give up on them.”

Pidge only shook her head helplessly, chest jumping with hiccups. Before despair could swallow her once more, Allura climbed to her feet, letting Pidge cling to her as she walked out of the Lion.

The Green Paladin’s weight was negligible in her arms and Allura had to fight down the urge to curl even closer.

She was so much smaller like this. Young and vulnerable in a way that Allura had never seen. Pidge had always seemed so much stronger than her diminutive size, so much wiser than her years and far cleverer than she ought to be.

To see her like this broke Allura’s heart.

She knew Pidge was capable, she had proven as much when Sendak had turned the Castle against them. As such, she didn’t understand her other Paladins.

Why would they hurt her like this?

Just what possessed them to throw themselves in front of Pidge as if she only needed to be protected?  
If anything, Allura would want Pidge to fight at her side. There was nothing to be gained from throwing the Green Paladin behind her.

But this was something that Allura feared she’d never be able to bring herself to say aloud. Especially in front of Pidge and the other Paladins.

Even if she didn’t understand it, the sacrifice they had each made for Pidge had meant something very important to all of them. She couldn’t belittle that.

Especially when her father had done something so similar.

Pidge’s pain was one she _understood_ well.

She held the girl close as she walked, the silent shaking of her shoulders chipping away at Allura’s heart.

Coran’s expression was troubled as they walked and Allura met his eye, worry heavy on her mind.

Pidge had brought up a good point. They had no leads as to where the other Paladins could be, especially with the way the base they had infiltrated simply disappeared.

As it was, it was difficult to conceive of any kind of plan when all they wanted to do was grieve for what they had lost.

And Pidge…she had been close enough to see them, only for that hope to be cruelly snatched away. And then for Shiro to sacrifice himself…

Allura couldn’t bring herself to push the girl in her arms.

Not yet.

~~~~

"Methods?" The bartender asked, lifting a scaly brow, "What did you do? Brainwash her?"  
  
Saftoliyir narrowed her eyes sharply, sitting up straighter in her chair.  
  
How would he possibly know something like that?  
  
"That's an interesting assumption for you to jump to." She said silkily, "What would give you such a ludicrous idea?"  
  
"Lucky guess, I suppose." The bartender replied drily, eyes meeting her own boldly, "Of course, you still haven't answered my question."  
  
Internally, Saftoliyir seethed. There was far more to this bartender than any of them had previously thought.  
  
That kind of mystery was by far the most dangerous on Tenebrae.  
  
"What kind of method could have pissed off Voltron's Princess that badly?" Beryl whistled, unable to peel her eyes away from Saftoliyir's bandages.  
  
"I offered the Paladin what she wanted most." Saftoliyir grinned, perfect teeth on display.  
  
A necessary illusion. The princess had gone for those first.  
  
"And what was that?" Dantanelle purred, his eyes alight with mischief.  
  
"To see her family again."  
  
~~~~  
  
It had been days.  
  
Days since Pidge refused to leave her room, every screen she had pilfered from their adventure through the universe humming loudly, their bright lights casting flickering shadows from beneath her closed door.  
  
She wouldn't even be eating if Coran hadn't threatened to cut the power to her room.  
  
Allura didn't know what to do.  
  
It was painful to see Pidge like this and she wholeheartedly understood her grief but... they needed to come together right now.  
  
They needed to find a solution to find their team _as a team_.  
  
She didn't want to push Pidge but every day made it more difficult to hold to that resolution. It was difficult to remember Pidge’s pain over her own.  
  
She was completely shutting them out and as much as Allura was loathe to admit it, _it hurt_.  
  
The boys were her family too.  
  
Setting her shoulders, Allura let out a harsh breath outside Pidge's door. Today had to be the day. She was going to speak to Pidge, iron everything out, and then they were going to find their family together.  
  
She was sure of it.  
  
She rapped at the door primly, doing her best to respect Pidge's privacy and space to the fullest extent of her ability.  
  
"Please go away."  
  
"Shutting yourself away in this room is no longer an option, Pidge." Allura said firmly, ignoring the way Pidge's response had made her heart sink, "Open the door."  
  
A shuffling sounded from the other side and Allura soon found herself facing a bedraggled Pidge, tawny eyes bloodshot and puffy. "What do you want from me, Allura?" she asked wearily, the screens behind her running all manner of codes and calculations.  
  
"I want you to let us in, Pidge. Let us help." Allura pressed earnestly, "You do not have to do this alone."  
  
Abruptly, Pidge's eyebrows furrowed, eyes tearing up once more. "Yes, I do."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I have to do this alone."  
  
Pidge's quiet, half-sniffled words cut like knives and Allura flinched, drawing on every iota of training she possessed to keep the expression of hurt off her face.  
  
How could she think that? How could she keep pushing them away like this?  
  
"I do not understand." Allura replied quietly, trying to hold her budding temper back.  
  
Better angry than hurting. Better to shield her heart from further damage.  
  
"I'm a curse." Pidge whispered, handily derailing Allura's train of thought, "And I won't hurt you guys too."  
  
"What are you talking about, Pidge? Curse?" Allura blurted, unable to stop herself, "Whatever could give you such an idea?"  
  
Anger sparked in Pidge's eyes briefly, the emotion bringing welcome life to the golden depths before it fizzled out once more. "Consider everything that's happened, Allura. The others disappeared trying to keep me safe. Safe from situations that have seemed all too convenient. Why are so many people trying to kill me in particular? And all so soon together?" Pidge rushed, an almost manic tone to her voice, the blankness to her eyes hinting at the previous damage of the hive mind.  
  
It unsettled Allura.  
  
Pidge clearly laid the blame for everything at her own feet. She thought the misfortune they had suffered was due to a curse of some sort.  
  
All Allura wanted to do was hold her.  
  
"I'm cursed to keep losing my family over and over again." Pidge whimpered, her shoulders drooping into something sad and worthy of pity.  
  
Something in Allura snapped and she straightened her shoulders. Grieved or not, defeated or not, the brilliant Green Paladin of Voltron was better than this.  
  
"Enough!" She cried, her sudden effusiveness startling the girl before her, "Enough, Pidge. You are not cursed. There is no such curse!"  
  
"And how do you know? The Lions are a mix of science and magic. Haggar basically wields magic in quintessence. I wouldn't be surprised if she were able to do something like this." Pidge retorted, angry eyes flashing, "But you said it, so it must be true, huh, Princess?"  
  
Her words were mocking and Allura couldn't help but respond to the taunt.  
  
She knew this wasn't going to help, how could slinging harsh words at one another do anything but harm their search?  
  
Of course she knew that!  
  
...But it was so hard without all of them there and Allura was hurting too.  
  
She had lost a second family as well.  
  
"Yes, Pidge." She hissed, "It is true. Maybe if you stopped pitying yourself and thought logically for a tick, you would understand how utterly _ridiculous_ you sound!"  
  
"I can't be nearly as ridiculous as you, Princess." Pidge sneered, fists clenched at her sides, "So convinced that Zarkon had a mystical way of tracking you that you tried to abandon us. Always so safe in your big castle while we go out and risk our lives fighting your war!"

“My war?” Allura sputtered, fury sparking pink at her fingertips, “This war is for the good of the universe! Are you so full of your own pity that you have forgotten why we are fighting?”

There would be no reigning herself in now. She could feel it. Her temper was one of her greatest weaknesses, after all.

“Oh, how could I forget?!” Pidge shrieked, “It’s all you ever talk about! Voltron this, great destiny that. Newsflash, Princess, The only reason I came to space was to find my family!”

“And you have been _so successful_ thus far.” Allura spat, fists clenched so tightly that she could feel her knuckles creak, pink sparks dancing around her palms.

“No thanks to you.” Pidge said dangerously, eyebrows furrowing hard as she sneered.

“And whose fault is that?” Allura huffed, “You’re the one who is too proud to accept my help, both then and now!”

“I’m too proud? Who was the one that drove Keith into going on what amounted to a suicide mission because she was too fucking proud to admit she was being a fucking racist to someone you have the audacity to call family!”

“He _is_ my family! Just as much as you all are! I have my faults and I accept them. It was wrong to judge Keith for his heritage… but the Galra have taken everything from me! To be faced with such a thing so soon after that loss was too much.”

The guilt for how she had treated Keith still gnawed at her insides, deep shame consuming her whenever she let herself think about it.

“The Galra have stolen from me too, Princess.” Pidge reminded, her body leaning forward as she all but spat the words out, face flushing with the force of her anger, “They’ve already taken one family from me. But at least my family is still alive to find.”

Allura couldn’t help but flinch at Pidge’s biting words, the blows landing true. “If my family were still alive, I would never have let them suffer as long as you have.” She returned, her voice nothing but a vicious hiss.

She had to stop it. This wasn’t helping!

_Stop it, stop it, stop it!_

Pidge’s eyes flew wide and her body trembled as if she was about to tackle the Princess in front of her. As lost as she was in her anger, Allura welcomed the threat. Let her come.

It was better than confronting the grief and guilt she felt.

The Paladin before her continued to shake in her rage, Allura’s words clearly hitting their target. “You’re a real bitch, you know that, right?” She spat, “It’s no wonder you barely know anything about us. We can barely stand your fucking attitude. It isn’t bad enough that you had to drag us into this but you treat us like shit.”

“Maybe the Galra will take me next and I’ll finally be able to get away from you.”

With that, she stepped back and let the door slide closed, the mechanism for its lock clicking so loudly in the dead silence of hallway that Allura could feel it like the blast of a rifle. After staring at the blank door for what felt like hours, Allura finally pulled herself away, a hollow, sick feeling in the center of her chest.

She only made it to the end of the hallway before Coran stepped out from around the corner, a clear look of disappointment on his expressive face. She averted her eyes quickly, a choked sob pulling itself from her chest at his judgement.

“Please, Coran, not…not now.” She croaked, her voice wrecked with the effort of trying not to cry in front of him, “I will accept whatever lecture I deserve later but…I…I cannot...”

He gave her a quick nod before turning his head back down the hallway, concern creasing his features as he let her pass in silence.

Allura let her body move on autopilot, feet dragging as she made her way to her bedchamber, the room nearly identical to the way it had sat ten thousand years ago. The moment the door slid closed behind her, she crumpled to her knees, burying her face in her hands.

She couldn’t even begrudge Pidge her venom, couldn’t hate her for the words that had fallen from her mouth so easily.

Her pride had proven to be too fragile, too easy to target. And she had lashed out in turn. Picking and poking at things that she knew would hurt Pidge, all because she was wounded that someone she considered family wasn’t relying on her.

It hurt.

It hurt badly.

It was like when her father had locked her in that damn cryopod instead of trusting her to fight alongside him.

And all of the other Paladins that had perished beside him. They had protected her, flying their Lions throughout the galaxy to hide them instead of standing and fighting as she had suggested.

All she had left was this war. And it showed.

The humans she had taken in and trained. The beautiful souls she had come to think of as family.

She pushed them and pushed them for this war. Pressed them into learning about her culture and her ways of doing things.

And so little effort had been put forth on her part to truly learn about them. They’d been together for so long now too, fighting valiantly to liberate the universe from the grasp of a ten thousand year old tyrant.

She wasn’t fit to wield the same authority as her father.

Gods, she wished he was still here to advise her, to guide her as he had in the past. Sendak had stolen more than her peace of mind with his mental infiltration of the castle.

He’d stolen all that she had left of her father, a paltry shadow of his former self as it was.

She let her back slump against her door, letting her hurt overwhelm her. She cried until she didn’t think that she could cry anymore, the lights from the hallway beyond dimming into the night cycle they had programmed to help the humans maintain their sleep schedule.

The change only made her cry harder.

She wanted them back. She wanted to finally speak of her feelings for Shiro. She wanted to relax with Lance and watch her favorite shows. She wanted to eat Hunk’s frankly amazing cooking and spar with Keith, the only person other than Shiro that she didn’t have to hold back with.

She wanted to apologize to Pidge but her wounds were too fresh, her guilt and grief too much.

It was almost more than she could bear.

Allura let herself wallow in her self-pity and hurt for what seemed like hours until soft, shuffling footsteps echoed outside her door. Curiosity pulled her from her misery and she let her door slide open, peeking out the open portal.

To her surprise, Pidge was the one shuffling down the hallway, her body oddly slack with each step. “Pidge?” Allura whispered, her voice carrying down the hallway.

The Paladin before her didn’t even react to her words, not even to sneer in her direction. There was nothing but Pidge’s shuffling, a strange mumbling falling from her lips.

Allura scrambled up from where she was sitting on the floor, creeping down the hall behind the shambling Pidge. The words that were coming from the small girl were unlike anything Allura had ever heard, a language the Castle didn’t even know where to start to translate. It was likely that it was nothing but gibberish…however, Allura worried.

Just what had come back from the hive mind on Guirguis with her?

She didn’t know and it concerned her so greatly.

Following after her last and littlest Paladin, Allura pushed her worries to the back of her mind, focusing instead on where Pidge was sleepwalking to. Because, after consideration, this was indeed was Pidge was doing.

After days of neglecting her body, Pidge had finally passed out. It wasn’t strange in the past to see Pidge shambling past like some kind of robot, eyes open but blank as she was very clearly asleep on her feet. Allura barely suppressed a grin at the memory and how deeply unsettled Lance and Hunk had been by her “zombie walk”.

In her distraction, she nearly lost Pidge around a corner and she sprinted to keep up, her heart sinking to her feet as she watched the girl climb into one of the spare pods, the Green Lion perking up in her own hangar, a kind of questioning growl coming from the robot.

Allura could feel curiosity and increasing worry coming from the great Lion and her own concern expanded, fear welling up in the pit of her stomach. She raced forward, diving in the pod beside her Paladin, holding on as the girl expertly started it up, her competence not at all diminished by her sleeping state.

A competence that Pidge had not demonstrated in the past when it came to piloting anything other than the Green Lion.

It was beyond strange. Even with all the times that Pidge had wandered the Castle while sleepwalking, she’d never tried to take a pod before. And the Green Lion had seemed alarmed.

Allura had to stop her.

“Pidge! Pidge, stop!” She cried, the pod moving from the Castle before she could interfere, the small Altean ship darting into the cosmos of space and beelining for the nearest planet.

She clambered through the ship desperately trying to reach Pidge and wake her before she managed to wreck and strand them in her sleeping state. It was difficult with the erratic way Pidge was piloting, her mumbling never ending as she stared straight forward, eyes running with weary tears as she scarcely blinked.

As they broke through the atmosphere, Allura managed to pull herself up over the seats and grasp Pidge by the shoulder, yelling as loud as she could. “Pidge! Wake up!”

Pidge flinched and turned her eyes to Allura, the blankness flickering. “Allura. Princess. Sister. Leader.” She hummed, “Angry. Hurting. Wanna go home.”

“Pidge, please!” Allura pleaded, ignoring the words Pidge mumbled, “You need to wake up or we are going to _crash_!”

The Green Paladin turned her blank gaze back to the front, the ground of the planet rushing up to greet them. After a moment of staring, her eyes widened frantically, hands pulling at the controls.

“Allura, what the hell?” She shrieked, turning wild eyes to the side.

“You were sleepwalking!” Allura rushed, hands pushing Pidge firmly into the too large seat and buckling her in with the myriad of straps.

“What are you doing?!” Pidge cried, trying to bat Allura away, “Take care of yourself!”

“Focus on the pod!” Allura ordered, her hands scrambling with her own straps, “You might be able to mitigate the damage from the crash to something more manageable!”

“Allura, this isn’t like Green! I was never trained to be a pilot!” Pidge panicked, pulling hard at the controls, “I was a communications officer!”

Allura swallowed harshly and set her eyebrows, curling herself around the back of Pidge’s chair and wrapping her much stronger hands around Pidge’s on the controls.

She pulled back as hard as she could on the sticks, inching the pod out of its gravity driven nose dive.

It wasn’t going to be enough but they wouldn’t die on impact. Allura kept pulling, her hands sweating around Pidge’s, the smaller girl thrashing in her grasp. “Allura, stop! You have to strap in! Please!”

“It is not enough! Just a little bit more!” Allura argued, “If we do not pull up a little more, we will both die.”

Pidge only looked at her with her wide, young eyes, overwhelmed tears escaping without her permission. “Allura…”

“We will talk when we make it back to the Castle, yes?” Allura forced, her voice clearly laced with fake assurance, “There is quite a lot that we need to iron out.”

Sensing the escape, Pidge nodded, turning her eyes forward. “Right.” She narrowed her eyes at the upcoming planet, “Over there! There’s fewer trees. It won’t hurt the pod as bad.”

“This is still going to hurt!” Allura warned pulling up again on the controls in an effort to level them out at last as she directed the pod towards the clearing Pidge had indicated.

She overestimated the strength needed for the turn and the wing of the pod caught harshly on a low hanging branch, flipping the pod into a spin just before they collided with the ground.

The glass of the pod shattered on impact and it was all Allura could do to continue to hang on to Pidge’s chair as the pod tumbled across the ground, shrapnel flying off the pod and shredding the interior. They rolled to a stop at last and Allura let her arms slacken, collapsing over the back of what should have been her chair, rivulets of blood painting her dress a deep burgundy.

She should have worn her flight suit. If she’d known that she was going to have to inadvertently save Pidge from nose diving into a planet, she’d probably have made more useful wardrobe choices.

Allura snorted once before her vision flickered black around the edges and she surrender to unconsciousness, the shrill tone of Pidge’s voice ringing in her ears.

~~~~

“Their ship had fallen from the skies like a meteor.” Saftoliyir recounted, eyes hazy as she was lost in her memories, “Even as small as it was, it was an impressive relic of the powers of Altean technology. It’s a shame that they crashed it into pieces.”

“So you came across them accidentally?” Beryl deadpanned, “We all went after Green in particular and she just happened to fall into your hands?”

“Not entirely, one of little faith. My race is one with formidable mental powers, particular in that of interacting with the minds and memories of others.” Saftoliyir revealed with a sharp grin, “I had sensed the Green Paladin’s intellect and abilities as the Altean Castle had floated past. I had only needed to wait until she had fallen into a vulnerable state so that I could coax her nearer to me. There is only so much that I can do from a distance.”

“You are a lot scarier than I had previous assumed.” Maltis swallowed harshly, curling a bit closer to his twin, “What did you do when they landed?”

“They had landed on the planet that I rightfully ruled.” Saftoliyir hummed, “If not for the rebels who had forced me to flee, I would have sent my forces to investigate. As it was just me, I had to make a more _personal_ trip.”

“A queen taking care of things herself.” Korvar nodded, “Sounds like the best kind of queen.”

Saftoliyir could only glare at the fool.

It was no matter. Once they heard her tale, they wouldn’t dream of crossing her.

~~~~

Unconsciousness couldn’t hold Allura for long and she found herself rousing, Pidge’s small hands on her face warm and clammy as they prodded for injuries. “Oh thank fucking quiznack, you’re awake.” The Green Paladin breathed, letting her head thunk against the shredded controls, “You know Alteans barely have any kind of life signs when they’re unconscious? I thought you were dead.”

Allura frowned at how shaken Pidge sounded and she patted at Pidge’s hand comfortingly, mentally pushing past how badly her body ached from the crash. “That certainly was not the most regal landing I have ever had but you are okay?”

“Am I okay?” Pidge sputtered out in a laugh, “Allura, you kind of look like you got thrown through a cheese grater.”

“I am not sure what that is but I imagine that I do not look particularly well at the moment.” Allura sighed, already bemoaning the fate of her dress, “That is a shame. I liked this dress.”

“Can Alteans get concussions?” Pidge mused, “Because I honestly think you might have one. You are bleeding. Like everywhere. And you’re worried about your dress.”

Allura opened her mouth to respond when the rustle of footsteps caught her attention and she frowned deeply. “Quiet. We are not alone here.”

“I don’t even know where we are.” Pidge whispered, “I just remember falling asleep and hearing someone calling for me.”

Unease settled deeply in Allura’s chest and she forced herself not to move. “Stay calm. They may be a friendly species.”

Pidge gave her a dry look before peering out into the mess of the forest they’d landed in. “Can you do something to maybe make them think you’re dead?”

“Yes. Why?”

“If they think it’s just me, they might let their guards down.” Pidge explained, “If they really want to attack us, it would give us the advantage. Also, kind of a little wigged out by the fact that you can do that.”

“In the deepest states of meditation, I can focus on lowering my breathing and heart rate until they would be nearly undetectable.” Allura explained, “But why make yourself the bait?”

“I’m small. And not very physically intimidating. They’ll be more likely to underestimate me. Especially if I’m ‘traumatized’ by the apparent death of my companion.”

“That does put you in a lot of danger, Pidge.” Allura frowned, “But I trust your judgement. Be careful.”

Pidge gaped at her for a moment before her eyes welled with tears, tears that she wiped away angrily. “Been a while since I’ve heard that. Especially with the boys suddenly deciding that I need to be protected.”

“I will admit that I do not rightly understand their reasoning behind that.” Allura whispered, calming her mind so that she could suppress her outward life signs, “I would rather you fight at my side than be safe at my back.”

As she slipped into the trance like state, she could hear Pidge give a small sniffle.

“Thanks Allura.”

She’d only meditated like this a few times before and every time it was unbelievably calming. Despite the danger, this was no exception.

Her mind felt almost disconnected from her body and it was a fight to keep her focus on the world outside of her unresponsive body. Her wounds urged her to give into the relaxation but Allura kept her will as iron.

Even like this, she wouldn’t abandon Pidge.

Not when they had a talk to have and apologies to exchange. Allura _would_ apologize for the venom she had slung at her smallest Paladin.

Pidge was more than Allura had been expecting of her. They weren’t the close sisters that Allura had desperately wished for upon the revelation of Pidge’s gender but they were teammates and, she hoped, friends and found family.

The young girl was an excellent partner in mischief and minced no words when asked for her opinion on something. Allura knew that she could trust her in the situations before these.

But now she worried.

Pidge was trustworthy but the other entity in her mind was not. And it had led her out to this planet for something.

Allura wouldn’t let anything happen to Pidge. They would fight it off together.

Prim steps padded across the soft ground and Allura pulled her attention back to the reality beyond her tranced body.

Loud theatrical sobs almost made Allura cringe and she couldn’t help but let a tendril of amusement curl through her meditation.

The Green Paladin was a terrible actress.

~~~~

Saftoliyir looked over her rapt audience, sparing only a glance for the deadpan bartender, his aloofness making her stick up her nose in distaste.

It almost seemed like the bartender disliked her the most and it rather irritated the exiled queen. The other victims of Voltron’s brutality had taken to her most handily once she had begun her story but the bartender only seemed to grow more sullen as she spoke.

It grated on her nerves.

“I came upon the pod cautiously. It was quite a mess, after all.” Saftoliyir simpered, “All things considered, I wasn’t sure if the mind I had lured to my planet would have survived.”

“Those humans are far more resilient than we give them credit for.” Dantanelle interjected, a broad, considering smile curling over his face.

“Indeed.” Saftoliyir nodded, “Imagine my surprise when I come across the young Paladin sobbing over the apparent corpse of the Altean princess.”

“Wait, what?” Beryl yelped, “Corpse? She was dead?”

“For all intents and purposes, she appeared so.” Saftoliyir sighed, letting a sneer curl over her lips, “It was a clever ruse but it wasn’t enough to completely shield the last of her Paladins from me. It was almost too easy once I’d come close enough.”

“I wonder how the Princess could make herself appear dead.” Maltis mused, pressing one knuckle to his mouth as he thought.

“In many societies, meditation is an art that is highly honored.” Amaladis explained, “There are deep states of meditation that put the user in a trance like condition that appears very similar to death. As peace oriented as the Alteans were reported to be, it doesn’t surprise me that the Princess would have such training.”

“Yes, yes, she was very impressive.” Saftoliyir scowled, “Now as I was saying, I came upon the Green Paladin beside herself with grief.”

“I could do no more than offer my assistance.”

Allura strained her hearing as much as she could in her trance-like state, carefully monitoring the forward march of the soft footsteps.

“Hello?” A prim, proper voice called, “Is there someone in there who requires assistance? I saw the crash and I could not help but come to aid.”

Pidge let her theatrical sobs taper off, looking up to where a veiled woman peered inside the wreckage of the pod, her eyes bright in the half darkness.

The woman’s voice struck Allura as odd and she couldn’t help but grow tense within her trance. There was something within the voice, a second pattern of vibration that layered atop her regular speech pattern. Not to mention, her concern was trying too hard. It was a level of saccharine that bordered on sickening.

Allura didn’t trust this mysterious rescuer one bit.

“I-I’m in here!” Pidge sniffled, her voice halting, almost as if she hadn’t wanted to answer the voice.

The footsteps padded closer and Allura could feel Pidge flinch beside her when the newcomer entered the pod’s wreckage, the hand Pidge had put on her shoulder trembling.

Even with her all bravado from before, Pidge was scared. And after everything that had happened with the others, Allura couldn’t blame her. Situations had quickly gotten out of hand with all of them and Pidge had been left behind, protected but hurting and terrified.

“Oh, dear.” The woman clucked, “You poor thing. Is she dead?”

Allura immediately doubled her efforts on suppressing her life signs as Pidge’s hand curled into her dress tightly. She let out a hoarse sob and Allura could feel the wind off her hair as she nodded. “I don’t know what to do. I think she _is_ dead.”

“There, there, little one.” The woman crooned, her steps crunching in the glass scattered around Allura’s unresponsive body, “I can take care of you from here.”

The strange second tone picked up and Allura inwardly scowled. Pidge’s grip in her dress faltered and fear abruptly filled Allura.

What if this was something that could affect humans? Many patterns of brainwashing or other forms of mental manipulation were ineffective against Alteans due to their connection to quintessence but humans…

There had been no evidence that they would be immune to such things.

Allura’s blood ran cold as she realized that perhaps Pidge hadn’t been drawn here to due to the other influences from the hive mind.

She was being targeted for brainwashing.

“Everything will be alright now, child.” The voice continued, its sound ugly to Allura’s ears with the overwhelming vibration coming to surround it.

Pidge let out a tiny noise of distress and Allura released her tight grip on her meditation, trying to will herself out of it faster. She wouldn’t let this happen to Pidge. Not the brilliant Green Paladin.

Not her last Paladin.

Her pride had driven them to this place and she’d be damned if she lost her last Paladin due to her blasted pride.

“Go on, little one.” The woman urged, Pidge’s presence leaving Allura’s side as she stumbled to her feet, “Tell me what I can do to make it all better.”

“I-I just want my family back.” Pidge stuttered, the words almost pulled from her unwillingly.

“But of course.” The woman said sweetly, “And if you come with me, I can make that happen. I can give you your family back, little bird.”

The young girl whimpered before she curled over abruptly, hands flying to her head. “Wha-what are you talking about?”

“Come now, little bird.” The woman whispered, “It’s useless to resist.”

The tone picked up and Allura fought against the trance of her meditation even harder.

She had to come back, had to fight off this witch.

Had to keep her last Paladin out of enemy hands.

The dregs of her trance pulled at her like mud, keeping her body limp and unresponsive even as Pidge shook beside her, small, muffled noises of distress pulled from her chest.

“No, I know you’re lying!”

“Would you risk your family for a sheer feeling?” The woman sang, “I _can_ give you your family back.”

A moment passed and Pidge’s trembling eased abruptly, the hand that had twisted itself in the loose fabric of Allura’s dress going limp. Allura felt terror sing through her veins.

She was _too late._

“That’s the way, little bird.” The woman laughed, “You won’t need to worry anymore. I’m all the family you’ll need.”

~~~~

“I’ll admit, it’s been a very long time since someone was able to resist me so desperately.” Saftoliyir sighed, “But I knew that she would have been well worth the effort, if not for that Altean snake.”

“You…you actually did brainwash her…” Beryl gulped, her gaze suspicious.

“If that’s what you want to call it.” Saftoliyir sniffed dismissively, “My kind has depended on our very special abilities for millennia.”

“Just what did you need the Green Paladin for?” Amaladis mused, fingers steepled as they asked, “While intelligent, she was not the most accomplished fighter.”

“I already had competent fighters at that point. What I needed was her mind. The rebels that held my throne were clever. Technology was their greatest defense. So I sought out a mind that could have defeated them. My search was long as I was confined to my planet but the Goddess smiled upon me when Voltron floated past.”

“So you brainwashed that shrimp so he could hack your enemies’ defenses?” Korvar grumbled, “It’s not a bad plan.”

Saftoliyir smiled smugly and crossed her hands on the table primly, the white of her bandages stark in the gloom of the bar.

“Of course it was a good plan.” She bragged, “I had easily remedied two problems in one fell swoop. I had a way to destroy the rebels that had infested my palace like the rats they were. And I had found a weapon I could use to keep them firmly beneath my heel. That Paladin was a treasure trove of genius. With her brain and my control, we would have been a true force to be reckoned with.”

“Too bad the Princess stomped you good, huh?” The bartender smirked, far too many teeth bared for the expression to be any less than threatening.

There was something about his eyes that irked the Queen, a quirk that flirted with the fringes of her recollection. It was familiar… _and irritating._

She just couldn’t place it.

“Indeed if not for the Altean Princess, my tale would have been infinitely different.”

“And I loathe her for it.”

~~~~

The thing they don’t stress about meditation trances is how long they take to come out of.

Particularly when one is panicking.

It felt like it had been hours since Pidge had succumbed to the strange woman’s brainwashing and Allura still felt like she was swimming through mud back into consciousness.

Perhaps the crash had done more damage than she’d initially thought.

This could be her body’s way of accelerating her own healing process despite the demands of her mind. She was also reasonably sure that her panic was not aiding her cause.

Of course, calming that panic was another matter altogether.

Allura was _scared._ Scared and worried. Not only were they stranded on an unknown planet, no, they had to be hurt and brainwashed too.

And there would be no daring cavalry to help them. Coran probably didn’t even known they had disappeared yet, let alone that they were in trouble.

They had no transportation, no weapons, and no armor.

As Keith would say, they were fucked.

Whatever that meant.

There wasn’t much Allura wouldn’t give to have her Paladins here with her now. But therein dwelt the problem.

If the boys had been here, this situation never would have come to pass.

She and Pidge would never have fought. They never would have crashed on this planet.

Allura had only herself at this moment and she’d honestly never felt so inadequate.

Inwardly, she shook herself. Dwelling on the futility of her situation was doing nothing to help her out to it and every moment she laid amongst the glass pitying herself, the further away Pidge grew.

She had to calm herself.

Struggling against quicksand only served to entrench you deeper after all.

With that thought, she ceased her mental thrashing and drew upon the fonder memories she held regarding her Paladins.

Kind, level-headed Shiro. The kind of leader you couldn’t help but respect. She felt deeply for him and prayed that they survived long enough for her to act upon those feelings.

She could do with his patience now.

Sweet, gentle Hunk. Always the first to suggest a peaceful solution but as resolute as the Earth when those he loved were threatened. He was the first loss and honestly, Allura felt that she had failed him the most.

She’d have to make it up to him.

Around her consciousness, some of the fog began to lift, her environment coming back in fits and spurts.

It was working!

She focused harder on her beloved family, never a replacement for the one she’d lost but rather a new beginning. She wouldn’t let this be the end for them.

She drew on Keith’s fire to inspire her. He was a complicated one with walls up so high she worried that they might be insurmountable. She had hurt him deeply upon the revelation of his heritage and she still had some apologizing to do.

It was something she’d never let herself forget.

She let Lance’s waves center her. Even if his tomfoolery left her more annoyed than charmed at the beginning, Lance had grown into a cherished confidant.

Once everything settled, they’d definitely need a chill day once more.

Her focus paid off in spades and she returned to consciousness abruptly, the aches of injuries from the crash making themselves readily apparent.

Allura groaned as she pulled herself into a sitting position, doing her best to be careful of the glass still scattered around her.

She let her body lean against the torn console before inspecting her surroundings, grimacing at the incredible amount of damage that had been wrought.

Allura had honestly never seen a pod wreck this badly. She could only imagine how horrendous her own injuries must be. She could certainly feel them but they must have looked gruesome indeed if Pidge’s kidnapper had thought her dead on nothing more than sight.

Gritting her teeth, Allura used the remnants of the console behind her to drag herself to her feet.

There had to be a first aid kit in the wreckage. All pods were equipped with one. She could snag a few of the acceleration tablets at least. They were an old Altean invention, something that could help speed the healing process in the event of an emergency.

It would be all she really had time for.

She had a Paladin to save.

~~~~

“So what happened with that Paladin anyway?” Beryl grumbled, “I haven’t heard anything about them in months. It’s like Voltron has completely gone off the radar.”

“If you will be patient, perhaps my tale will shed some light upon your inquiry.” Saftoliyir huffed, irritated at the interruption.

A raucous pounding of feet sounded from beyond the bar’s door and the inhabitants within stilled, the chatter dying down to a low hum of anxious apprehension.

“Sounds like the soldiers found something interesting.” The bartender said dryly, shattering the tense silence with all the grace of a sledgehammer.

It wasn’t strange to see an occasional Galra soldier taking advantage of the entertainment Tenebrae had to offer, but this…

This was unheard of.

“What are they doing?” Maltis whispered.

“No sense in worrying. They went past us.” Korvar said tightly, “If they wanted any of us, we’d know.”

“In that case, why don’t we continue?” The bartender suggested, his calm demeanor completely unnerving Saftoliyir.

That was a full patrol of Galra soldiers. This wasn’t something that could be so blithely ignored.

“Well, Your Majesty?” The bartender hummed, the familiar yet not expression buzzing in the back of Saftoliyir’s mind, “Yours is the last tale. Why don’t you finish it?”

There was a layer of threat in his words that made Saftoliyir’s skin crawl.

It wasn’t like she had much choice.

She exhaled deeply and continued her tale.

~~~~

Even with the acceleration tablets and their inherent pain-relieving properties, Allura’s wounds slowed her far more than she’d like. It didn’t help that the trail Pidge’s kidnapper took was circuitous and irritating.

It tried the fraying fibers of Allura’s patience. After a brief rest, she set off once more, tattered skirts clenched tightly in one hand so as to spare them from the sharp bite of the forest’s thorns.

The trail began to grow straight at last and Allura gave a sigh of relief. She strode with purpose along the trail, almost walking into the open before she backpedaled hastily, hiding herself behind the thick trunk of the nearest tree.

She’d been so busy looking at the trail at her feet that she’d neglected to observe her surroundings.

She pressed herself tighter to the tree as curious footsteps padded closer.

It was a rookie mistake. She could almost feel Coran laughing at her now. Not only had she neglected to observe her surroundings, she’d walked directly in front of an enemy patrol.

“What are you doing, Merrick?”

“I thought I saw someone dart in here.”

Allura clenched her fists tightly and waited for the guard to venture closer.

It seemed that she’d have no choice but to fight her way to Pidge and her captor.

Rolling her neck, she let a wicked grin curl over her face.

It had been awhile since she’d cut loose, after all.

The guard drew ever closer, his heavy boots clearly marking his path toward her. The moment his head peeked around Allura’s tree, she lashed out, curling her arm around his throat tightly. She held on until his struggles ceased and then she let him go, his limp form collapsing to the dirt in a heap.

She briefly considered stealing his armor to disguise herself but quickly discarded the idea.

Whoever this woman was, she had stolen and brainwashed a member of Allura’s family.

And Allura _wanted_ her to know she was coming.

Decision made, Allura emerged from her hiding place, adrenaline for the fight ahead dulling the ache of her wounds and sharpening her senses. Mentally, she discarded the things holding her back.

Right now she wasn’t Altean royalty. She wasn’t a dignified ambassador or the speaker for Voltron.

No.

Right now, Allura was a scared girl on a strange planet who only wanted to girl she considered her sister back.

And she’d do anything she had to in order to accomplish that.

~~~~

“It was like being under attack by an army.” Saftoliyir recounted, “Any member of my forces that stood in her way was dealt with, swiftly and without mercy. It seemed that nothing could stop her.”

~~~~

Allura darted behind a pillar, two-tone eyes fixed intently on the doors before her.

This was it. The last room left unsearched.

It had been a hassle and a half just making it this far. Her body ached, wounds both new and old fighting for her attention. Blood stained and matted the white of her hair, the eeriness of her current appearance sometimes doing more to incapacitate the guards than anything she could do with her fists.

They thought her an avenging spirit of wrath, a goddess of war and vengeance.

Allura certainly wasn’t going to do anything to dispel that belief anytime soon.

Only two more guards stood between her and her family. She let her breath settle for a brief moment before surging from behind her pillar, arm coming up in a swift punch for the nearest guard.

Her fist connected with his jaw with a satisfying crunch and Allura whirled, ignoring the screaming in her knuckles as she grabbed the other guard’s wrist.

Her momentum made it easy to hurl him down the hall, the impact of his body a sickening smack that echoed throughout the room.

Allura turned away, frowning deeply before she kicked the doors to the room open, the wood splintering where she made contact.

The room’s inhabitants looked up at the noise and Allura snarled at the possessive way the woman in the room curled around the Green Paladin, clawed fingers petting at wild brown hair in a manner that seemed almost motherly.

“Give her back.”

~~~~

The bartender gave an impressed whistle, his hands never ceasing in the almost hypnotic motions of keeping his bar tidy.

“She was the epitome of fury and vengeance.” Saftoliyir waxed poetically, “Blood stained her pale hair and marred her tattered dress. She looked as if she had risen from the grave to deliver her retribution. It was far from dignified.”

“Kinda hard to be dignified when beating your way through an approximate army.” Korvar whistled, “Damn, what a woman.”

“It is strange. Alteans are recorded as being one of the most pacifistic races. She must have cared a great deal about that human if she went to such extremes.” Amaladis mused, “It made sense for the other Paladins to be so protective of Green but the Altean princess…This concept of family must be powerful indeed.”

“That is probably the saddest thing I’ve ever heard. You don’t know what family is?” Beryl gasped, Maltis sharing her expression of concern.

“I know of family-“

“Anyway,” Saftoliyir interrupted, eyebrows drawn in annoyance, “I was telling my tale.”

The twins nodded sheepishly while Amaladis stared past, his expression contemplative.

“Don’t leave us waiting.” Dantanelle hummed, beady eyes flicking between Saftoliyir and the enigmatic bartender.

It seemed he didn’t trust the four armed man either.

~~~~

“Not so dead after all, are you?” The woman purred, her gaze unwavering even as Pidge turned back to the computer in her lap.

“Let go of her.” Allura said dangerously, fingers dancing with pink until she curled them into furious fists, “She is not some toy for you to play with.”

“Indeed.” The woman laughed, “This little bird is convinced that I’m the family she holds _so_ much loyalty for. It’s precious, really. And she’ll do anything for me! Taking down my rebellious forces will be such a breeze for her.”

“What do you really want with her?”

The woman’s eyes narrowed and her fingers ceased with their mindless petting. “Perceptive. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t bother myself with such a fragile pet. But that _mind_ …I had a need for it.”

“Who are you to think like that of others?” Allura demanded, a fine trembling running through her limbs.

“Who am I? I am Queen of this planet, Saftoliyir the Resplendent. And I can think of lesser life forms however I want. Who are you to speak to me so impertinently?”

Allura took another measured step into the room, the motion drawing Pidge’s eyes once more, a look of confusion crossing the girl’s face as their eyes met.

“You do not deserve to hear my name.” Allura spat, “But I am the Princess of Altea and the diplomatic envoy for the Defender of the Universe, Voltron. In that capacity, I am more than enough to be the judge of you.”

“Fairy tale after fairy tale.” Saftoliyir hummed, “And to claim to be royalty. Ha! Altea has been destroyed for millennia. You are Princess of _nothing._ ”

A snarl pulled itself from Allura’s throat unbidden and she surged forward, a punch ready to throw.

How dare that…that _bitch!_ How dare she?!

Allura bared her teeth and threw her fist, aiming to knock her sharp smile down her throat. The grin only widened as Pidge shot up, hazel eyes desperate as she spread her arms wide.

The sight of those eyes made Allura falter and she made her punch go wide, the momentum knocking her off balance enough that she crashed into the smaller girl.

The rolled across the floor, scarcely missing the hem of the Queen’s wildly ornate robes. Pidge ended up on top of the roll, her hazel eyes intent.

“I won’t let you hurt my family!”

Allura reeled for a moment at that heartfelt cry, half-heartedly blocking the rather weak punch Pidge threw towards her face.

It had terrible form anyway. She probably would have broken a few fingers if it had connected.

“Pidge! That woman is not your family!” Allura cried, “I am!”

“Who is Pidge?!”

Allura jerked back in surprise, eyes flying to the starburst shaped scar in the center of Pidge’s forehead.

Was Pidge really that brainwashed or had she surrender control to the other minds that had followed her back from Guirguis?

There had to be something that she could do!

Unbidden, her mind jumped the sparks of pink that still leapt from her fingers. She might be able to tilt the scales in Pidge’s favor. If she could introduce her quintessence into Pidge’s mind, she might be able to induce a state of unconsciousness where Pidge could finally assert her dominance in her own mind.

It was a stretch and she worried that her fledgling control wouldn’t be enough to keep from hurting her last Paladin.

Steeling herself, Allura wriggled her arm between them, placing the flat of her palm over the scar, pink quintessence sparkling around her fingers.

Pidge was clever. Surely she had recognized what the woman had been trying to do? She could use this to save herself.

Pidge yelped when the quintessence met her skin, scrambling away from the pink sparks like she’d been burned.

The Queen immediately jolted to her feet, panic blooming in her slanted green eyes.

“What have you done?!” She bellowed, eyes locked onto where Pidge had curled into a ball, hands clasped tightly around her head.

“What I had to!” Allura gasped, rolling to her feet to land the very punch she had intended from the very beginning.

The Queen’s teeth gave like glass and Allura took a vindictive pleasure in seeing the woman go down. Saftoliyir lifted one decorated hand to her mouth, brushing gingerly against the blood that dribbled over one full lip.

“You will pay for this!” Saftoliyir roared, her beautiful countenance quickly turning ugly and warped, her body contorting and expanding rapidly in size, “I will kill you, Altean!”

Allura held her ground, lifting her chin in suborn defiance.

“We will see about that!”

~~~~

The table stared at her in stunned silence, Beryl craning her neck to the side as if that would somehow dispel the illusion she wore like a glamour. “You can turn into some kind of monster?” Maltis squeaked.

“My species specializes in mind tricks. Brainwashing, mind control and illusion.” Saftoliyir sighed, “However, it is but one facet of our species. We are capable of growing to enormous size when properly motivated.”

“So you are both the lure and the predator.” Amaladis mused, rubbing at their chin in contemplation.

“I still can’t believe she knocked your teeth out.” Beryl whispered.

“Yeah, I’d say you really made her angry.” The bartender hummed, a strangely pleased smile on his face, “Knocked your teeth in and everything.”

“I’m glad you’re taking such pleasure in my tale.” Saftoliyir said dryly, “Can I take this to mean that I am the winner?”

The others broke their silence to protest hotly but the bartender only held up a single hand. “I said I’d hear all the tales and then decide.”

“And yours isn’t finished yet.”

~~~~

Allura cast a single glance to Pidge’s prone form before taking a step towards the monster that had made such a thing come to pass.

It wasn’t right that Pidge couldn’t fight at her side right now, that she had to be protected once more because of circumstances beyond her control.

Allura gritted her teeth and turned her gaze back to the monster, pink crackling around her arms.

She wasn’t sure how well she’d do in terms of trying to use her quintessence to fight.

As a princess, she’d had little training in this type of quintessence manipulation but damn if she wasn’t going to try.

Allura would not lose her last Paladin.

She _would not._

The queen roared at her, her size increasing to gargantuan levels as Allura watched, the roof of her hideout giving way as the queen continued to grow larger and more monstrous. Scales covered previously smooth, flawless skin and horns pushing sharply down the line of her steadily expanding spine.

Debris rained from the ceiling and Allura rolled out of the way, her path taking her by Pidge’s shaking form. Without hesitation, she gathered the small girl into her arms and sprinted for the doors.

Trying to fight such an enormous monster within the confines of a building was foolish. None of her Paladins would-.

Never mind.

Allura grimaced as she ran through the empty halls. Keith and Lance would absolutely try if they thought they could win.

She suppressed a fond chuckle and ran full tilt for the gate, her mouth falling open at the sight of an intact Altean pod hovering perfectly over the grass.

The glass vanished and Coran frowned down at them, his stern look quickly dissolving into one of intense worry.

“Allura, what happened?” He demanded, eyes darting between Allura herself and Pidge’s shuddering form.

“Pidge was lured here by this planet’s Queen.” Allura gasped, the exertion of running with her injuries stealing her breath, “We crashed and Pidge was brainwashed.”

Coran’s eyes went beyond Allura’s shoulders and grew wide, the turquoise growing even more clouded with worry. “Allura, what is this?” He gasped, “If I’m correct, this species has the capability to completely destroy a mind that they hold in thrall.”

Allura clutched the Green Paladin closer to her, fear and exertion making her limbs tremble.

“How far do you have to get away to break her hold?” Allura demanded, an understanding blooming in her mind.

Was this how the boys had felt? Had they felt this desperate fear for Pidge’s life when they had made their sacrifices?

It was an all-consuming emotion.

Allura couldn’t stand this fear, this crawling thing that froze her heart at the sheer thought of Pidge being hurt that way.

It was a fear that urged one to substitute to endanger one’s own life to protect one who meant so much to you.

She had meant every word she’d said to Pidge in the wrecked pod. She’d much rather have Pidge fighting at her side…but Pidge couldn’t fight right now.

She was trapped inside her own mind, thrown into an internal battle against the Queen’s control by Allura’s own quintessence.

It had been a desperate gamble.

Every moment Pidge remained on this planet was another opportunity for that wretched Queen to utterly destroy her mind.

“Take her.” Allura ordered, lifting Pidge’s slight weight, “Take her as far as you have to.”

“No!” Coran protested, “I’m not leaving you behind here!”

“Coran, look at that thing!” Allura said fiercely, “She’s still growing! If we all try to leave, there is a very real possibility that she’ll knock us out of the sky! We do not have the luxury of waiting around.

“What about you?” Coran whispered, his voice pulling at Allura’s heartstrings, “You can’t be asking me to leave you behind.”

“Only long enough to eliminate the threat to Pidge.” Allura vowed, “Leave me a com. I will not fail either of you, Coran.”

Coran looked to her sadly before hesitantly taking Pidge from her arms. He rooted around in the pod for a moment before producing a slender com, the tiny thing gripped firmly in his hand. “Promise me, Princess.”

“I promise.”

He let her have the com, fingers lingering until the very last second. “I can’t say that I’m okay with this, Allura…but your father would be very proud of you right now.”

Allura ducked her head in a brief nod before locking her eyes with Coran’s. “Just keep her safe. I have not been able to a very good job of that lately.”

“That reminds me, young lady.” Coran scolded, “You and I need to have a long conversation about your temper.”

A small laugh left Allura and she turned back to the great scaly monstrosity rising from the ruins of the Queen’s hideout. “I will look forward to it.”

“Be careful.” Coran whispered, the hum of the pod closing making Allura straighten her shoulders.

She made a promise and she would _keep it_.

Especially now that Pidge was out of the potential danger zone in terms of physical attacks. Allura could focus all of her energy and attention on the monster currently holding Pidge’s mind hostage.

And she would have no mercy.

~~~~

“Wait? There was another one?” Dantanelle sat up sharply, his eyebrows furrowed, “I was under the impression that the Princess was the last Altean.”

“I know what I saw.” Saftoliyir sniffed, “Granted I was very large at the time but my secondary form has excellent eyesight. He was undoubtedly an Altean and the pod he left in was identical to the one that the Green Paladin and the Princess had wrecked so thoroughly.”

“Seems a little weird that he would just leave her there.” Beryl frowned, looking to her brother, “But I mean, she is their Princess. I bet she ordered him to go, like some kind of giant spoiled brat. Sounds par for the course in regards to most of the Princesses I’ve met.”

“And you’ve met so many princesses.” Maltis drawled, resting his face on his scarred hand.

Beryl glowered at him and the bartender let out a snicker. “So now it was just you and the princess. The great dragon versus the princess. Sounds a bit poetic.” He hummed, eyes flickering between their dark reptilian green and a bright hazel, “I like the sound of it.”

“What’s a dragon?” Korvar grumbled, “Doesn’t sound like anything I’ve ever seen.”

Amaladis shrugged at him and the bartender crossed one set of arms over his chest. “A giant lizard. Usually has wings and breathes fire.”

“That sounds utterly preposterous.” Saftoliyir sneered, “I didn’t have wings.”

“But you can breathe fire?” Maltis frowned, “Sitting next to you really doesn’t sound like a great idea.”

“If you’ll let me finish this tale, you’ll see how correct you are.”

~~~~

Allura took off as soon as the pod began to fly, letting her quintessence crackle in wide circles around her arms.

Her inexperience in this kind of battle made her worried and she exerted every inch of her will on the circles whirling in circles around her. Her battle with Haggar had been a mixture of desperation and instinct and while she was desperate now, fighting this monster wasn’t quite the same as facing down the witch that had basically been the driving power behind the Galra Empire for the last ten thousand years.

But her fists wouldn’t serve her right now. While she had the requisite strength to grapple with this creature, it wouldn’t do her any good. She needed a way to put this monster down for good. She had seen first-hand how Haggar’s manipulation of quintessence could cow even the most unruly of monsters.

The bands of pink lightning grew wider and Allura skidded to a stop, building the intensity of her attack. There was a good chance that she’d only get one real shot at this. Building an attack of this magnitude was draining at the spiritual level and she was already so tired.

So one attack would have to do it.

~~~~

“As she approached me, I didn’t think anything of the pink lightning that ringed her like some kind of bad magic trick. I was many times her size and far, far sharper than her.” Saftoliyir smiled, her smile turning brittle as she continued, “It was my mistake for underestimating her. The whole situation would have turned out far differently if I hadn’t continued to look down upon her.”

“Well, there may be hope for you yet.” The bartender spat dryly, eyes now firmly an accusing tawny.

She knew that from somewhere.

~~~~

“Give it up, Altean!” The monstrous Queen roared, “You can never defeat me. I can squash you like an insect! And I will take great pleasure in doing so!”

Allura didn’t allow herself the luxury of response, all of her concentration on the mass of quintessence she allowed to orbit around her, the pink lightning illuminating the dusk that had fallen upon the clearing.

She dug deeper and deeper into the well of her soul, throwing her desperation, fear and anger into the mix and letting the combination surge her power to new heights.

_Just a little more._

Thoughts crept into the back of her mind like insidious tendrils. With the power at her disposal, she could reduce the planet to a wasteland and after what they had done to her Paladin, who could stop her? Who would think to tell her that she wasn’t justified?

It was a dark and awful thought, one that scared Allura to her core. The power at her fingertips was addictive and heady. Who would think to oppose Voltron if its diplomat and spokesperson could wield the power to eradicate planets? If Voltron’s Princess could go toe to toe with Zarkon’s Witch and walk away?

The lure pulled at her will, urging the quintessence around her to increase in intensity and power, the circles spreading widely around her.

A part of her knew that this was wrong, that this kind of thinking would corrupt her and set her along Haggar’s path but she couldn’t stop, couldn’t pull herself back from the precipice.

There was no one to talk her down, no one to confront her darker impulses when she didn’t have the will to.

 _She was alone_.

Just as despair threatened to wash over her, five cacophonous roars echoed through her mind, banishing the insidious temptation like sweeping away the annoyance of a fly. Her quintessence faltered for a moment as she reveled in the connection she held with the Lions, a bond that she had forgotten in all the horrible things that had happened with the Paladins.

They shared her sadness and worry. They wanted their Paladins back just as much as she did. They considered the boys their cubs and it worried them so desperately that they couldn’t sense them. Green pressed her thankfulness along their bond and Allura let the Lions bolster her, their mental presences solid in the back of her mind.

The Lions would ensure that she would not fall over the precipice. They were bonded to her life force and they would keep her mind safe from the temptation. She had only to continue on the path she walked.

Silently thanking the Lions, Allura focused her attention on the monster in front of her, the Queen’s arrogance working in her favor. The enormous monster only looked down on her in condescension, not deigning to attack first.

Allura steeled herself and pulled the quintessence close to her, letting its intensity increase. “Surrender, Saftoliyir. Surrender your hold on the Green Paladin’s mind and I will let you go!”

“I don’t know what you think you’re going to accomplish with that little magic trick of yours, Altean but the Green Paladin is mine. I will destroy her mind before I release it!”

The monster curled down to her so that she could glare at Allura with one green slitted eye. “She’s proving to be more of a nuisance than a boon, Altean. Should I just end it now?”

“No!” Allura shrieked, her quintessence roiling.

The monster reared back, her sharp slivers of broken teeth glinting in the light from Allura’s quintessence. “See, Altean. I don’t need to touch you to hurt you. I only need to hurt her.”

The vibrations in the air picked up significantly and Allura’s mind went white with fear.

She was going to hurt Pidge. Hurt her so badly that there would be no return. Not even a healing pod could fix that kind of damage. Pidge would be an empty doll, nothing inside, not even a spark.

Allura would sooner die that let something like that happen.

She let her quintessence fly.

~~~~

“You guys are great at taunting people when they really could kick the absolute tar out of you.” The bartender hummed, “Especially when you don’t know anything about them.”

“Mine was more than a taunt.” Saftoliyir grinned, “Before her attack, I truly had destroyed the Green Paladin’s mind.”

“You…did what?” Amaladis gasped, “You destroyed Green’s mind? All that potential? Gone?”

“If I couldn’t have her, no one could.” Saftoliyir snarled, “Now she can’t be used against me. Not now, not anywhere in the future. I couldn’t risk her coming back for revenge.”

“After what happened to your planet, I don’t know what she could possibly take revenge on. If she were still alive, it would be nigh impossible to find you.” Dantanelle grinned.

“What happened to your planet?” Korvar said quietly, a blank expression on his face.

“The Princess clearly had no idea how to control the power she had charged up to use against me.”

“My planet was torn to shreds.”

~~~~

The quintessence leapt from her like a wave, the pink lightning tearing enormous furrows in the ground before her and flying high into the sky, illuminating the dusk like a shot. After she had released it, it continued to go, the energy draining from her body at an alarming rate.

Quintessence lashed at the monster, spiraling up her arms and slicing through the flesh as though it were paper.

The monster went down with a shrill screeching cry, leaving a horrified Allura to try her best to pull her power back to herself.

It was worse than trying to drag herself back to consciousness, the untethered power unwilling to return to the well of her soul. And she was _so tired_ of fighting, _so tired_ of holding her will as if it were iron.

Her will trembled and the quintessence railed against her control, turning the lash of her lightning against her. The com in her ear buzzed and she could hear Coran panicking in the back ground. “Pidge! Pidge, just hold on!”

Allura felt her blood go cold and her quintessence faltered, the change in her mood draining the force from her attack.

_She had been too late._

Too late to save Pidge, too late to spare this planet from her untrained power.

And Pidge was lost to her even more permanently than the boys. Her mind was gone to the void and her body an empty vessel.

The Green Paladin was dead.

She crumpled to her knees, deadened eyes staring at her hands blankly as her quintessence fizzled out around her, the landscape torn to pieces for as far as the eye could see.

Allura had done this. She had destroyed this land. A species had suffered for the crimes of their Queen but all Allura could feel was numb.

Her family was gone once more.

~~~~

“So she just attacks you and destroys your entire planet?” Beryl whispered, curled closer to her twin, “Great Goddess.”

“What happened after that?” Dantanelle queried, his head resting on his folded hands, “Did the other Altean come back for her?”

“No.” Saftoliyir murmured, “I couldn’t leave the wreckage of my hideout but I could see her. And the other Altean never returned. Something much worse came for the Princess, drawn to her by the same arcs of power that had destroyed my planet.”

"Worse?" The bartender queried, one scaly brow lifted.  
  
"Zarkon's druids came for the Altean princess."  
  
~~~~  
  
Allura looked up wearily as several robed beings zapped into existence all around her, sharp white masks gleaming in the dusk.  
  
"You did quite a number on this planet, Princess." The druid nearest to her purred, "We couldn't have asked for a better invitation."  
  
Struggling to her feet, Allura snarled at the druids circling her, the weakness in her body and her soul keeping her from pulling herself to her full height.  
  
Her body screamed for rest, a light trembling running through all her limbs. Grief gripped her mind and the well of her soul was ravaged by her wayward quintessence.  
  
It was the absolute worst situation she could find herself in with regards to Zarkon's druids.  
  
She could only thank her lucky stars that Haggar hadn't chosen to make an appearance.  
  
"My attack was never an invitation for your kind, unless you desire to find yourself on the receiving end." Allura threatened, "Where are my Paladins?!"  
  
"We've seen what it means to be on the receiving end of your quintessence, Princess." Another druid crooned, "Too bad you're with Voltron. You would have been a great asset to Lady Haggar."  
  
"Spare me your drivel. I would rather die than ever do anything for that witch." Allura spat, "I won't ask again. Where are my Paladins?"  
  
"They are safe." One druid laughed.  
  
"Not much damage we can do when they're kept in stasis." Another hummed.  
  
"You can join them." The lead druid whispered, voice sibilant, "While you aren't part of the gift we are preparing for Lady Haggar, I'm sure you'll be an amusing pet to entertain her while we mold your precious Paladins. It shouldn't be too hard to complete the set now, especially since Green is on their own."  
  
A choked sob pulled itself from Allura's throat involuntarily and the druids ceased their circling, blank masks staring at her impassively.  
  
"We didn't think you to be one who loses themselves in emotion at the prospect of defeat." One of the druids observed coldly.  
  
"Your plan won't come to fruition." Allura hissed, throat tight with emotion.  
  
"Oh? Why is that?"  
  
"The Green Paladin is dead."  
  
Silence reigned for a moment before a druid jolted forward, gripping her throat with a large clawed hand.  
  
"You lie."  
  
"A lie would not save her." Allura said bitterly, "She would be alone, as you said. You can thank the Queen of this planet for the death of the Green Paladin."  
  
The druid's hand tightened and Allura choked, weakened fingers scrabbling at his grip.  
  
"It seems our plans will need to change." The druid snarled, "We'll take her with us. The Lions are linked to her for now. The truth will soon come to light."  
  
Black clouded the edges of Allura's vision as the druid continued their relentless grip, oxygen failing to make it to her brain.  
  
Before the darkness consumed her completely, she felt the tiny com in her hand crackle, the soft hum of an Altean lullaby making its way to her ears.  
  
She let it go for a moment before crushing the com in her fist, fragments falling to the torn earth below.  
  
Allura wouldn't give the druids any way to track down what was left of her family.  
  
~~~~  
  
"Do you think that's what happened to the other Paladins?" Maltis offered, "I don't know how I feel about basically being used by Zarkon's druids."  
  
"The way things ended with each of our encounters...it just doesn't make sense." Amaladis frowned, looking around the table, "And each time, the battlefields were destroyed, so there was little evidence of an encounter."  
  
"So we were just a convenient distraction." Dantanelle grumbled, "That certainly sounds like something those druids would do."  
  
"What a load." Korvar growled, slamming a fist on the table, "I can't stand those hooded bastards."  
  
Saftoliyir nodded as the others spoke before looking back to the bartender, his expression only increasing her unease.  
  
He looked almost amused in his contemplation, tawny eyes pulling at Saftoliyir's recollection.  
  
Just where had she seen eyes like that?  
  
"Either way. What's done is done." Amaladis sighed, "I believe our judge has a decision to make."  
  
The bartender turned those enigmatic eyes to the survivor of Guirguis, a smile spreading across his face.  
  
"A decision?"  
  
"Yeah. Who is the most dangerous Paladin?" Korvar groaned, "That's why we were all swapping stories."  
  
"The Princess isn't technically a Paladin though..." Beryl interjected, the glare Saftoliyir gave her making the furry eared girl quail.  
  
"Fine. The most dangerous member of Team Voltron then." Korvar amended with a grunt, "Just make the decision."  
  
The bartender pressed a finger to his chin in contemplation, eyes closed as he mused.  
  
"You've all made great cases for your stories." He began with a sigh, eyes slitting open to stare at the table before him, "But I'm afraid I can't make a decision just yet."  
  
Saftoliyir opened her mouth to protest but a shrill alarm screamed through the town, loud raised voices echoing through the door to the street.  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
"Someone is attacking the base!"  
  
"On Tenebrae? What could they possibly want with that one?"  
  
Steel shutters slid over the doors and windows of the Lion's Den effectively trapping everyone inside. The patrons of the bar looked to their grinning bartender in terrified silence as even their chairs reacted, bindings leaping from hidden compartments to keep them in their chairs.  
  
Saftoliyir struggled against her binds only briefly before looking back to the bartender, recollection finally clicking in her mind.  
  
"You."  
  
~~~~  
  
Pidge looked out over the silent bar, unable to keep the triumphant smile off her face.  
  
"So aside from all this, why can't you judge our contest yet?" Dantanelle drawled, drawing incredulous looks from his fellow table mates.  
  
"We haven't heard all the stories yet." Pidge grinned, vaulting the counter so she could perch on its polished surface.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Beryl said carefully, eyes tracking all of Pidge's movements.  
  
"I think you might know, but since I have a captive audience, I don't mind sharing." Pidge chirped, finally releasing her mental hold on the illusion that had disguised her for so long.  
  
It was so nice to be herself again, to feel her own emotions and be in her own body. Although, the extra set of arms had been a big help. She’d have to look into make a set of those when she got everyone back to the Castle at last.  
  
Ignoring the gasps throughout the room, she dug the psychic transmitter out of the neck of her Paladin armor, a sigh of relief leaving her as soon as it left her skin.  
  
It was exceptionally uncomfortable, especially as far as Olkari technology went. Her last foray with that stuff had been the most comfortable thing she’d felt in her experience with alien brainwave machines.  
  
"The Green Paladin." Saftoliyir breathed, the unease in her voice making Pidge's smile turn wicked.  
  
"Back from the dead apparently." She chortled, "And more than ready to add a tale into the running of who I think is the most dangerous member of Team Voltron."  
  
"Who would that be?" A patron from the back sneered, his struggles cutting off with a yelp when the restraints inevitably shocked him.  
  
She hadn't taken any chances when she designed them.  
  
Pidge let her grin widen and leaned back on her hands, feet swinging in beat with the quiet music she kept playing behind the bar.  
  
"Why, me, of course."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that happened.  
> I love Pidge so much. I just had to have her be an absolute badass.  
> One more chapter guys! And its gonna be following our girl at last!  
> She's gonna go hard.  
> I am a firm believer in happy endings...I just like making my characters work for it.


	6. Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge gets to tell her side of the story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, it's finally done!  
> Its taken me so flipping long to finish it but it finally done!  
> Please, enjoy!

A part of Pidge felt a little bad at the sheer levels of terror populating the room at her announcement but the larger majority was just too happy.

Six long months of tireless planning and tracking finally come to fruition. Hours beyond measure spent making sure that every aspect of this plan would go exactly as she and Coran set forth.

She couldn’t begrudge herself this moment of pride.

Pidge had _worked_ too hard for it.

“You’re the most dangerous Paladin?” Korvar sputtered, pushing through his surprise at her appearance to guffaw loudly, “That’s rich, shrimp. Apparently the Queen rattled that brain of yours too well.”

Pidge frowned at him, letting her legs kick idly over the edge of the polished bar. “Do I really need to remind you what kind of situation you’re in right now?”

“Honestly, I wouldn’t bother, Green.” Maltis offered uneasily, “If you haven’t noticed, this one is a bit of an idiot.”

Grimacing, she nodded. “Believe me, I gathered that much.”

“Sorry to interrupt, but I beg your pardon.” Amaladis said stiffly, “But can this contest even continue? Clearly, you cannot be the impartial judge that we believed you to be, especially if you’re entering yourself as a candidate.”

“Are you serious right now?” Pidge deadpanned, looking at the survivor of Guirguis with the driest expression she could muster.

To be honest, she _did_ feel a little about what happened to Guirguis. Not enough to regret surviving it but certainly enough to regret the loss of all that information.

…Well, not all of it.

She and her remaining headmates had come a long way in the last few months. Especially after the events with the Queen.

“Just let her tell her story.” Dantanelle grinned, his unsettling eyes glinting in the lights of the room, “It promises to be an… _interesting_ affair.”

Pidge narrowed her eyes at the slaver, a deep resentment humming through her veins when they locked gazes. If not for him, she would have retrieved her brothers far sooner. If not for him, a great deal of suffering could have been prevented.

He’d get what was coming to him soon enough.

“I’m so happy I could get your permission.” Pidge drawled, her months as the Lion’s Den’s bartender only increasing her penchant for sarcasm.

“Where would you even start?” Beryl queried, her previous terror eclipsed by curiosity, “If we want to be technical, your story would have to include all of ours.”

“There’s no point in rehashing everything.” Pidge sighed, “And I do have a bit of a time limit so I’ll just pick up after Her Majesty tried so hard to destroy my brain.”

“Tried?” Saftoliyir scoffed, “There’s no way I could have failed. My grasp on your mind was solid. Or have you forgotten just how deeply you had fallen under my control? Foolish child.”

“Well, if I were just any other poor sap, that might have worked.” Pidge smirked, taking an almost obscene amount of joy in the trepidation that crossed the Queen’s face, “But as you may have noticed, I’m pretty special.”

Her captives exchanged looks amongst themselves for a moment before returning their eyes to her, a glimmer of respect in their gazes.

“I believe we were promised a story, Green.” Beryl chuckled, “You should probably get started. You do have a time limit, after all.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow at Beryl’s amused words, a frown creasing her face at the expression mirrored on Maltis’ visage.

Just what were the twins up to?

“What the hell are you getting at, twerps?” Korvar rumbled, “As if this shrimp can go around doing as she pleases. No. I’m finally gonna bag this mark.”

Impassivity blanked Pidge’s features as Korvar began to struggle mightily in his bands, the wood of his chair beginning to creak dangerously. “I can only imagine the look on my employer’s face when I finally bring him your head.” Korvar grinned, Pidge’s temper finally getting the better of her.

A simple press of a button and Korvar’s chair anchored itself to the floor, new bonds creeping from their hidden compartments to lash him even more strongly to his chair.

“Sure you don’t want to hear my story, Korvar the Unyielding?” Pidge sighed, impatient to move on.

Her family was waiting for her.

…But she needed to hold her position for now. Coran would give her the signal when it was time.

She’d trust in him.

“Might include something very interesting about that employer of yours...” She continued blithely, looking up to the dumbfounded hitman.

“What do you mean?” Korvar stilled, beady eyes staring up at her cautiously.

“I’ve been pretty busy since the six of you went toe to toe with my family.” Pidge grinned, “And while I’m still beyond pissed at the roles you played in their disappearance, I’m willing to put that aside for a moment to tell you just what I managed to get up to. I have a feeling it’s a story you’ll definitely want to hear.”

Suspicion crept back into the six in question and Pidge only shrugged.

“Can’t take too long though. I have a family to save.”

~~~~

Pidge was drifting.

Where was up? Down?

She wasn’t entirely sure. The only thing she could remember was looking over Allura’s scarily still body…and a struggle.

Had she lost control to the hive mind fragment?

They’d been struggling for a while now and she’d been so tired, physically and mentally.

She could only lose her family so many times before it started to wear her to pieces, down to the very depths of her soul.

Pidge let herself sit for a moment, swallowing down her grief before looking around at the blankness of what she could only conclude to be an invention of her own psyche.

There wasn’t much to entertain her in this void, now that she thought about it.

Must be a hive mind invention then. How boring.

She’d never been good with boredom. It was her greatest foe and often served as the catalyst to her more mischievous escapades.

Like that bet with Keith.

She still couldn’t believe he’d actually eaten that weird alien bug. And while she would forever rue her loss, she was a bit impressed at Keith’s terms.

Even if it had offended an entire planet bad enough that they’d tried to have her killed.

But…you know, worth it.

Pidge snickered at the thought, warmth infusing her just as the blackness that contained her lit up in pink sparks, lightning streaking in fuchsia and cerise, power encased in every shade of pink imaginable.

_Allura._

The light show handily shattered the weird bubble she’d been engulfed in and she felt the firm press of the hive mind on her consciousness.

It wanted her to sink back to that infuriating blackness, its insistence only renewing her desperate battle. Autonomy was what it craved, it desired to keep hold of its new vessel for as long as possible. It was deserving of it. It had given to the host.

Now payment was due.

Pidge hissed her defiance and set up to struggle, the Green Lion pushing her considerable mental strength behind Pidge. She was grateful for the information she’d been given from the hive mind but Pidge needed to set some things straight.

This was her mind and her body, dammit. There was no way in _hell_ she’d give it up.

There were people depending on her. Her _families_ were waiting for her.

If she was being honest, there was nothing like a desperate struggle for control over her own consciousness to renew the fire in her soul. Looking back, Pidge was a little ashamed of how far she’d let herself fall into despair.

Losing her family like that had hurt. It had hurt so badly that she didn’t think she’d ever forget it…but she shouldn’t have given up like that.

The others had protected her, yes. They had driven her behind them and taken the hits themselves, leaving her behind.

She shouldn’t have let that make her bitter. She shouldn’t have pushed Coran and Allura away.

They were her family just as much as the boys were.

And once she finally showed that damn hive mind, she’d make it up to them.

Pidge wasn’t about to let Zarkon’s druids keep her family if she had anything to say about it.

The hive mind faltered beneath the weight of her determination just as a wave of explosive force overwhelmed them both.

Pidge couldn’t help but recoil, the force threatening to shred her consciousness, to tear everything that made Pidge who she was to pieces.

It was _excruciating_.

The hive mind suffered alongside her, its bulk taking the brunt of the force before splitting in three. The force and the largest fragment of the hive faded together, a psychic scream echoing through the darkness of the mindscape.

The remaining fragments flew towards her and Pidge prepared herself to continue the fight, her spirit weak from whatever attack had split the hive but no less willing to defend her claim to her body and mind. She could feel the Green Lion with her, her Lion’s gentle inquisitiveness pushed aside to make way for a terrible protective anger.

She would protect her Paladin, but unlike her pride mates’ cubs, she would do it at her cub’s side.

The fragments stilled, the feelings coming off them drastically different from the whole hive’s previous demeanor.

They felt similar to brushing against the mind of the other Paladins when the formed Voltron, single minds instead of the great multitude that had made up the mind on Guirguis.

These minds were ancient, scared, and unbearably fragile. They didn’t begrudge her claim to sovereignty, far from it. They were content to remain in the background of her consciousness.

They were finally free.

The realization jolted her from the darkness of her consciousness, her surroundings fading in place of her mental battlefield.

“Pidge! Pidge, hold on!”

Coran.

They were safe?

Her limbs felt heavy, odd tingles and sharp pains jolting from her extremities making it difficult to move at all. There was a crackle of static before a familiar voice gave a choked off sob. “Allura? Please answer!”

Pidge cracked her eyes open, flinching at the brightness of the castle hangar, the nearby physical presence of her Lion helping her push through the intense pain her body was throwing at her.

Coran was focused on the com in his hand, Pidge laid carefully on the floor in front of him just outside Green’s hangar. Muffled voices continued from beyond the com and Coran’s expressive face grew stony with every static filled word.

“ _Your plan won’t come to fruition.”_

Allura sounded so broken. What happened? Why wasn’t she there with them? She opened her mouth but speech was hard at the moment.

_“The Green Paladin is dead.”_

Pidge froze at her words, flicking her eyes to Green, seeking reassurance from the ancient Lion. Her faithful partner curled around her consciousness, purrs coming across their bond.

Something must have happened to make Allura think she’d died. Something that Allura wouldn’t have been able to contest because Allura couldn’t lie about something like that.

_“A lie wouldn’t save her. She would be alone, as you said. You can thank the Queen of this planet for the death of the Green Paladin.”_

The Queen? What had she…oh.

The force.

The one that had ripped the hive mind apart. The one that had made her feel like it would have torn her consciousness to ribbons. The Queen had tried to destroy her mind.

And Allura thought that she had succeeded.

If not for the hive mind, she would have.

The realization made her choke out a rough breath, the two remaining consciousnesses pressing alongside hers in solidarity. Not pushing or pulling. Only making themselves known.

It was far more comforting than Pidge would have expected and she relaxed against the floor, Coran’s humming voice drawing her attention once more.

He was singing. Objectively, it was rather beautiful, the Altean words lyrical and flowing. It made her think of the old lullabies her mother would sing to her at home but there was something desperately sad to it.

Almost like saying goodbye.

Did…did Coran think she was dead too?

The static from the com vanished and the old advisor bent his head, rough sobs shaking his shoulders. It was a sad, broken sound and Pidge felt another piece of her heart fragment. Coran was their quirky space uncle, a man known for his flair and ridiculous stories.

He was one of her best friends out here in space. He’d mentored her in the alien technology and had been a wealth of information of everything since they’d gotten here.

To see him so diminished was breaking her heart.

“C-Coran…” She croaked, the effort leaving her far more winded than she should be.

Whatever happened to her down on that planet had taken far more of a toll than she thought. Between the Queen’s attack and the residual effects of what she could only conclude to be Allura’s quintessence, she was a wreck.

But it was enough.

Coran looked up slowly, tear filled eyes wide with disbelief. “Number Five?”

She managed a weak smile and Coran pitched forward, gathering her up in his arms like she weighed nothing. “Thank the gods. All of them.” The advisor blubbered, his grip almost too tight.

Pidge accepted the embrace, gripping at his tunic as desperately as her weak fingers would let her. Tears pricked at her eyes and she blinked them back, burying her face in Coran’s shoulder.

She’d spent enough time crying.

Her family had sacrificed themselves for her one after another and she’d cried and threw herself into reckless plans.

But enough was enough. She’d cry when she got them back.

Then and _only_ then.

~~~~

“So the hive mind shielded you from my attack.” Saftoliyir hummed, a considering look on her face, “That is rather impressive.”

“Quite the loop hole.” Dantanelle grinned, “Your power would destroy a mind indeed but if there was more than one inside a vessel, your abilities are less effective.”

Pidge only frowned at the interruption, resting her elbows on her knees. Alarms screamed out into the late night of Tenebrae, the wail keeping her aware of the time limit pressing down on her.

She would only have one shot to do this. Six months of planning coming down to this.

_Patience yields focus._

She smiled at the thought and cleared her throat to get her audience’s attention.

“Time limit, remember? So try to keep your pithy comments to a minimum.”

Beryl and Maltis snorted, the twins grinning at her. “It’s good to know that the bartender was absolutely you the whole time.” Beryl added, seemingly taking a great deal of joy in how unsettled the other members of the table were, “But go on.”

She’d need to keep an eye on those twins.

“Anyway, Coran, lovely dear Coran, hustled my ass off to the healing pods. Turns out, healing from a quintessence attack does indeed take a long time. But that extra week gave me time to start planning and to get to know some people.”

~~~~

The hiss of the healing pod door had never come at a more inopportune time.

The story of one of her headmates, Vicarys, cut itself short as she returned to consciousness, the chill of the cryo chamber making her body shake as she stumbled forward.

She really hated the healing pod.

Coran caught her before she could smack into the ground, the room spinning for a moment before clicking back into focus. “Welcome back, Number Five.”

Pidge smiled up at him, the weariness in his face seeming to abate with her return to consciousness. “Hey, Coran.”

Silence reigned for a moment before she felt a little push at the back of her consciousness, Amaris mentally giving her a thumbs up. “I have a plan to get our family back.”

The advisor only blinked in surprise for a moment before a wicked grin curled over his face and he helped her all the way back to her feet. “Funny you should mention that. I took the liberty of calling up some friends to help. They’ve been waiting for you.”

Curiosity beat at Pidge like waves and she returned Coran’s smile. “Friends?”

She leaned against him heavily as they made their way out of the med bay, the castle still quiet, the white of the castle’s walls pristine and nearly blinding.

Coran had been busy.

“I called in our allies.” Coran explained, “They were more than willing to help after I explained the situation.”

The exuberance filling the control room was an abrupt change from the sepulchral silence of the rest of the Castle. Pidge couldn’t help but blink in surprise as they rounded the corner, her headmates giggling at her reaction, the Green Lion’s purrs amused as well.

Green kinda liked Pidge’s headmates. They had some pretty great conversations while Pidge was healing.

The control room was full of people, their life and vitality breathing fire back into Pidge’s soul.

This was perfect.

They were just what she needed.

The Olkari spotted her first, worried expressions immediately morphing to excitement. “Green Paladin! You awaken!”

Pidge gave an awkward wave, not really sure how to deal with all the sudden attention as her eyes catalogued the people present.

Several Blades of Marmora. The Olkari representatives. Shay and a few more Balmerans.

Coran had been _very_ busy.

“It is good to see you returned to us.” One of the Blades said lowly, mask warping the sounds of their voice.

“It’s good to be back.” Pidge hummed, throwing Coran a grateful look as he stepped back, a comforting presence at her shoulder, “I take it you’ve heard the whole story from Coran?”

“We have heard the skyling’s tale, Pidge.” Shay agreed, her face drawn into a deep frown, “We are here because we wish to assist. The Paladins of Voltron and the Princess have done much for my people. We will do all we can.”

Pidge nodded at the Balmeran girl’s words, the faces of the rest of the people in the bridge reflecting the same ideas.

Well, she’d never seen a better invitation.

“Good.” She said tersely, “Because I have a plan.”

The Blade looked up quickly, golden eyes searching Pidge’s face carefully. “We’re listening.”

A wicked smirk pulled over Pidge’s face and she crossed her arms over her chest, cocking her hip to the side. “We’ve been pretty proud this whole time. Too proud to think that we could possibly need help from the outside to find the ones that we had lost.” Pidge admitted, an old familiar pain making her chest ache for a moment, Coran’s presence at her back bolstering her into continuing, “We were wrong. We underestimated the threat the druids presented and now my family is out there in their clutches. We received confirmation that the other Paladins are being held in stasis and I don’t doubt that they did the same to Allura in order to stave off any potential escape attempts from the others.”

“The druids have them?” Shay frowned deeply, her hands clasped tightly in front of her chest, “That is beyond our experience, Pidge.”

“It’s beyond mine too.” Pidge sighed, “But what I know is that they’re still looking for me before they give the others to Haggar. That means that we have time. Not a lot as they are halfway convinced that I’m dead.”

“It was a close call there, Number Five.” Coran added quietly.

Pidge nodded along solemnly, a somber mood filling the room. The Blade members looked at the saddened people and stood up straighter, an atmosphere of resignation coming to surround them. “Then they are captured. If they were Blades, they would accept their fate. It is better for the whole to continue than to fracture to protect a few.”

“We didn’t ask you to come so that you could tell us to abandon our own.” Coran said tightly, a fury coming to his face that Pidge had never seen before, “We asked for your help in retrieving our family.”

“It is a fool’s errand.”

Pidge felt her own anger bristling alongside Coran’s and she held out a hand to keep the advisor from laying into the Blade members. “I told you I had a plan.” Pidge bit out, “And if it succeeds, it could change everything.”

“How do you propose to get past Haggar’s druids?” The Blade sneered, “Millennia of Blades have been unable to succeed at such a task.”

Letting her eyes drift to the Olkari, Pidge smirked. “We cancel their powers out.”

“Druids draw their powers from quintessence itself.” The Blade growled, “You cannot simply cancel that which makes up everything.”

“Actually, you can.” Pidge interrupted, mentally high-fiving her headmates.

A full week of conversation had been more than enlightening. She had been far from the first genius to be lured into the hive mind on Guirguis. The two minds sharing her headspace hadn’t been nearly as fortunate as her in escaping.

And they had such interesting insights to add to the whole situation.

“According to the unfinished works of the Hivaldir twins back before the fall of Altea, there was a way to temporarily disable the flow of quintessence in a controlled space. If we were to perfect it, we could utilize it to shut the druids down long enough to get in and out of a facility and rescue my family.”

The Olkari looked at her in surprise, their expressions creasing in curiosity and eyes lighting up with the spark of a new idea. “The work of the Altean twins was thought to be lost. How could you have found such a thing?”

“I’ve been busy.”

“Can it be done?” The Blade demanded, looking between the Olkari and Pidge.

“That’s what I aim to find out. That’s why I need your help. If I can get those blockers to work, I’ll still need help finding where the druids have taken my family. I need all of you to help me find anything we can.” Pidge pleaded, her words clearly moving the Balmerans and the Olkari.

“We will assist you, Pidge.” Shay said roughly, “We still have access to some things from your last visit and if you need anything from the Balmera to help with your blockers, you need only ask.”

“The Olkari would be more than happy to get to work on these blockers.” The representative said eagerly, “It would go a long way to overcome the obstacle the druids represent in the war ahead.”

Pidge turned her eyes to the Blade still standing on the far end of the room, their silence nearly deafening in the wake of the support she had received. “If it can be done, the Blade will assist you. But we cannot risk our operatives on such an ill-advised mission without assurance.”

Gritting her teeth, Pidge nodded, her headmates growling in tandem.

She’d convince them.

She had to.

As of now, they were down to one Lion and whatever Coran could do to navigate the Castle in Allura’s absence. In all honesty, it was a poor show of force for a rescue. She needed the Blade’s help to infiltrate or even just to set up enough to get her inside.

Because there was no way she was going to leave her family behind.

~~~~

The table before Pidge looked at her incredulously, each of them pausing in trying to undo their bonds to gawk at her.

“You really intended to take the druids on?” Maltis gaped.

“Intended? No, I fully intend _to._ ”

“So you did it.” Saftoliyir breathed, off-putting eyes peering at Pidge with a calculating stare.

Pidge met her eyes fearlessly, fingers curling over the edge of the bar. “What a smart child you are…” The queen crooned, her voice echoing strangely in the room.

Amaris and Vicarys gave sounds of warning and Pidge slapped at the button beneath the bar’s ledge. A shrill screech made the whole room jump and Saftoliyir flinched, her teeth gritting tightly to offset the pain the noise made. “Don’t try me.” Pidge hissed, “I won’t fall for something like that again.”

“Is this really what you did for the last six months?” Beryl whistled, “Researched this quintessence thing?”

“Oh, of course not.” Pidge smirked, “That took me about a month to figure out with the Okari’s help. After that, I got started on tracking down my family.”

~~~~

The last month had been more hectic than any that Pidge could remember since she’d made the fateful decision to follow Lance down over that cliff side.

Trying to figure out the quintessence blockers had been relatively easy in theory, especially with the Hivaldir twins in question taking up residence in the back of her conscious mind. However, putting those equations and processes into practice was proving to be slightly more difficult.

They were functional but limited. The blockers had to be positioned carefully and would only work for about fifteen minutes before they overloaded on the blocked quintessence and self-destructed.

It was fortunate that they doubled as bombs too. Especially when it was beginning to look like she really was going to have to go in by herself. With Zarkon’s resurgence and Voltron’s absence, the Blade was spread thinner than ever.

Kolivan couldn’t spare even one Blade but he dutifully relayed every piece of intel he could get his hands on, almost as if in apology.

Pidge could understand, even if she wasn’t entirely happy about it. Voltron had really been making a difference and now that he was gone, the universe was suffering. Zarkon was moving into the sectors they had freed and while there was resistance, it wasn’t the same as Voltron standing against the Galra Empire.

She had to do what she could.

Hence why she was combing every frequency she had access to in an effort to find some trace of her family. Her frustration was doing nothing to help her but she couldn’t help it.

There was nothing.

Not even transport convoys.

She didn’t even know where to start. Her headmates had no ideas or ones that were ten thousand years out of date.

It was almost enough to send her into despair.

She pulled her headphones from her head and let her face rest against her folded knees, trying to breathe through her frustrations. There had to be something that she was overlooking.

Maybe she was trying too hard?

Maybe the solution was simpler than she had expected. Her father had always said, that if a problem seems too difficult, find the simplest way of solving it and build from there.

She was operating with no leads. Amaris and Vicarys were but two minds and didn’t have the expanse of information that the previous hive mind fragment had possessed. They knew a lot about quintessence and how to manipulate it but other than that they were limited.

The Blade had given her every rumor and piece of information they could get their hands on but none of it had turned up anything. She understood the organization of the fringe of the Empire perfectly now but it didn’t help her find her family.

Maybe she should have installed those trackers in their armor like she wanted to so many months ago.

….Trackers.

She looked up in curiosity, the beginnings of an idea flirting with her brain as she stared at the wide hangar, the mess of her equipment surrounding her.

Green stared back at her, deadened eyes lighting up gold as she noticed Pidge’s attention falling upon her. Pidge could feel Green’s purrs wash over her mind, vibrating along their bond.

Pidge let those purrs calm her before she sat up straight, a gasp pulling itself from her mouth. That was it! The bond!

Allura had said that each of the Paladins shared a mystical bond with their Lions, something that went down to the soul level. It stood to reason that she could use the Lions to track down the Paladins!

Pidge could find them!

She could feel Green’s agreement along their bond, the giant mechanical Lion letting out a roar that shook the hangar down to its foundations, the other Lions seeming to stir at Green’s call. Pidge leapt to her feet as the other Lions pushed themselves into Green’s hangar, clumsy without their pilots but no less imposing.

The Five Lions of Voltron came to surround her, their glowing yellow eyes staring at her intently as they loomed above her.

It was humbling and slightly terrifying all at once. Pidge had never felt _so small_.

“I don’t know what Green told you along that weird Lion bond you all have but I was hoping that you could help me.” Pidge whispered, her voice carrying in the silence of the hangar, “I know that we’re all bonded to one of you. I know that’s probably how Red can always tell when Keith is in trouble and fly to him. I need you to help me find them. It doesn’t have to be perfect right now. Just…just give me a direction.”

It felt strange to be talking to the Lions like this but she was running out of ideas. All the quintessence blockers and infiltration plans were useless if she couldn’t track down where the druids were holding her family.

The lights in the Lions’ eyes seemed to blaze brightly, almost hypnotic in the way they stared down at Pidge. Green pressed herself firmly alongside Pidge’s mind, ignoring the awe from Amaris and Vicarys as the two of them awaited the response from the rest of the pride.

She could only hope that her idea bore fruit.

Minutes seemed to drag on as the others deliberated and Pidge barely dared to breathe, almost afraid to break the atmosphere of anticipation within the hangar. She trembled with it, held on the knife’s edge of hope and desperately waiting for something, _anything_ to change.

Finally, Red crouched, opening her mouth in a clear invitation for Pidge to enter. She barely waited for the ramp to descend before she was diving into Red’s mouth, running to the pilot’s chair and vaulting over the back, Red’s controls lighting up dimly as she passed.

The screen hummed to life, a smaller scale map of the local star systems blazing across it. The map zoomed to the far western fringe of the Empire and Pidge narrowed her eyes.

Red had found something in that far system.

It wasn’t perfect but it was a place to start.

She let out a half-hearted laugh, relief rushing through her veins so quickly that she felt like a limp noodle. She had a _direction_.

It was more than Pidge had an hour ago. More than she’d had in over a month.

“Thanks, Red.” She said softly, patting the armrest of the pilot’s chair fondly, “I knew I could count on you guys.”

Green purred approvingly in the back of her mind before urging her from Red’s interior, a quiet little huff of jealousy transmitting itself across their bond.

Pidge couldn’t help but giggle as she made her way out, a bit surprised to see a cautious Coran peering into the chamber.

“Hey there, Number Five.” He said slowly, “Any particular reason all the Lions decided to leave their hangars and hang out in here?”

“Green asked them to.”

“She asked them to?” Coran sputtered, “Why?”

“So they could find the others.”

Coran looked between her and Lions incredulously before gesturing for Pidge to continue, hope beginning to shine in his turquoise eyes. “Red really does keep the best eye on Keith.” Pidge laughed, the weight lifting off her shoulders almost making her eyes tear up, “She found something in the systems on the western fringe of the Empire. If we get closer, we might be able to get an even better reading from the other Lions.”

Coran’s eyes widened and he looked back to the sitting form of the Red Lion, a soft smile pulling over his face. “She’s more than used to looking after reckless pilots, I’m sure.” He murmured, turning his eyes back to Pidge, “Come on, Pidge! Let’s get the Castle moving!”

Pidge couldn’t help but laugh at Coran’s excitement, an excitement she fully shared. This was the best lead they’d had in so long and it was something they had never thought to utilize all this time. She sent a short mental apology to Green for forgetting just how close the Lions were bonded to all of them, smiling when her Lion preened under the attention, the Lion’s affection making Pidge feel warm and appreciated.

The advisor practically flew to the control room, Pidge almost sprinting to keep up with him. She bypassed the Olkari still researching the blockers, giving them a passing wave as she followed Coran up to pedestal Allura typically used to pilot the castle.

After a moment of consideration, the pillars responded to him, almost unwillingly. “Are we going to be okay to even get there, Coran?” Pidge frowned, eyeing the way the controls seemed sluggish.

“We’re running a bit low on Allura’s quintessence, Number Five. The Lions weren’t the only thing Alfor connected to Allura. This Castle will accept other quintessence to fly it, like mine of course, but in order to really unlock the potential of the ship, it needs to have the quintessence it’s connected to. I’ll be able to get us to the far fringes but it will take far longer than it would have if Allura had stored more of her quintessence in the ship.”

“How long do you think it will take?”

“About a phoeb.” Coran said regretfully, keeping his eyes carefully locked on the screen ahead of him.

“It’s going to take another month?” Pidge breathed, her shoulders slumping in disappointment, “Coran, I don’t know how much longer the druids are going to keep looking for me! We don’t know how much longer they’re going to keep the others in stasis instead of trying to torture them for information!”

“I know that!” Coran snapped, a very real fear on his face, “But if I try to push the Castle any harder, it will lock me out and then we’ll have no way of getting to them. We need to have faith Pidge.”

~~~~

“The rumors said that Voltron could be across the galaxy in the blink of an eye.” Korvar grumbled, “And you’re telling me it took you a month to get to the far side of the Empire?”

Pidge leveled her tawny gaze on him, irritation level growing with every moment they interrupted her. That time limit was a real thing!

She only had so long to wait until Coran placed all the quintessence blockers. Once he placed them, she’d have an hour to get in and out of the facility with her family before the whole place went up in smoke.

“They were missing the Altean princess, you dipshit.” Beryl sneered, “Are you listening at all?”

“Imagine how much such a skilled quintessence user would go for.” Dantanelle mused aloud, the rest of the table giving him vaguely disgusted looks, “The Empire would pay handsomely for her. And for you, little one.”

Pidge only heaved a sigh as she watched parts of Dantanelle’s body go shadowy and indistinct. “I wouldn’t if I were you.” She warned, eyes tracking the arm that was about to try and phase through the bindings on the chair.

The slaver only smirked at her before continuing, a loud zap echoing through the room as his shadow body began to phase through the bindings. He snapped back to corporeality, teeth gritted to keep a cry locked away. “You truly did your research.”

“Did you think I just sat around the Castle waiting and whining for that month?” Pidge scoffed, straightening her legs to keep them from going to sleep, “I was doing all kinds of things. But mostly I was looking into all of you. It may have been the druids who kidnapped my family but you hurt them first. There was no way I was going to let that fly. Once we got to this system, it wasn’t long until Red pointed us in the direction of Tenebrae. After that it was all a matter of setting things up.”

~~~~

Pidge stared out the enormous window of the control room, frowning down at the indistinct shape of the planet below the Castle. Tenebrae was tiny, a speck of a moon in the midst of several other huge planets in this system.

Barely any vegetation braved Tenebrae’s surface and yet the Galra had set up a thriving outpost on the planet. A small town had cropped up nearby and Pidge was almost impressed at the tenacity these people displayed.

It was daring to set up a town of thieves so close to an outpost of Zarkon’s Empire but it seemed the soldiers here were content to turn a blind eye in favor of the entertainment and ease the nearby town provided.

She turned slightly when Shay’s heavy footsteps padded up beside her, the much taller girl frowning down at the tiny planet. “Is this where they are being kept?”

“Red seems to think so. The others are having a hard time locking onto the signal. I guess it’s a good thing the Red Lion is such a helicopter parent when it comes to Keith.” Pidge hummed, “If we could get down to the surface, it would be easier for the others to reconnect with the other Paladins. The only other one who is giving us indications of where to go is Blue and right now she agrees with Red.”

“The reports you found about this place….it doesn’t sound like an easy place to infiltrate, Pidge.” Shay said softly, her frown deepening, “What will you do?”

“First, I need to get down there. Preferably in disguise. It would give us more time if the druids heard I was still alive but then they’d be actively hunting us while we’re trying to scope the place out and I don’t want to take that risk. Maybe I can set up some kind of safe house down on the planet’s surface where I can base the operation out of.” Pidge mused, “Every step closer I get seems to take me two steps back.”

“You have made great strides, Pidge.” Shay consoled, “Particularly in your efforts to research those who did your family harm. I am not sure what use that will prove to you but you are close now. This is a step forward, not a step back. Like you said at the beginning of this, it is a plan that you will need. I have every faith in you.”

“Thanks, Shay.” Pidge hummed, letting her head rest against Shay’s arm for a moment in thanks.

The Balmeran girl nodded before resuming her staring at the planet below. A hastily cleared throat caught Pidge’s attention and she turned back to see one of the Olkari researchers looking a bit nervous, almost as if speaking to her himself was daunting. “Yeah?”

“Um, I’m sorry but I couldn’t help but overhear, Green Paladin. You said something about a disguise?”

Pidge lifted an eyebrow and nodded, curiosity a tickle in the back of her brain. “Did you have something in mind?”

“Well, I, uh, back on Olkarion I did a lot of the research into psychic links and the concept of projection. It was something of a pet project but I think I might be able to help you.”

“Psychic projection?”

The Olkari flushed and nodded, producing a paper thin metal disc. “It’s a prototype right now but if it works like I believe it should you could project a new image to others. It might be difficult to maintain that kind of dual thinking needed to use the disguise for a long time but if anyone could do it, I’m sure you could.”

She let the Olkari place the slender disc in her palm, a hum of vibration from the machinery reverberating along her skin. “How do I use it?” She asked quizzically, looking up at the nervous researcher eagerly.

He cleared his throat and pointed to the center of the disc, the indentation lighting up as his finger neared it. “This part here needs to be close to your skin. The disc doesn’t disguise itself so it would need to be hidden but the area of skin doesn’t exactly matter. From this point the disc will access your brainwaves through the contact and act upon the image that you hold in your mind. The tests haven’t been going very well just yet but we haven’t been able to find someone who can adequately take on another mental persona. You have to hold the image of who you want to disguise yourself as in your mind as your primary idea of self. It’s difficult to do for most people.”

“So you basically want the disc to think that you absolutely are this person or creature.” Pidge hummed, “But to do that, you have to believe you are that too. Sounds like a good way to lose your idea of self.”

The researcher held his hands up apologetically, shaking his head frantically. “Oh no, no! There is a timer on the disc to keep people from getting too far into the disguise. The most it will disguise you for it eight hours. After that it will force resume the home shape it scans.”

“Well, I had asked for a disguise.” Pidge smirked, pressing the disc to the side of her neck and deliberating for a moment.

What kind of creature could she disguise herself as? What would draw the least amount of suspicion on a planet covered with thieves and Galra? And if the creature had more limbs or appendages than she herself did, how would that work? Would they be facsimiles? Or would the disc give them real mass?

A grin curled her lips as her headmates threw out a few suggestions, their own limited experience of the universe still more encompassing than her own. After deliberation, she settled upon one that she knew would draw little to no suspicion.

Especially for the function that she intended her disguise to serve.

She focused on the image in her mind, Amaris and Vicarys throwing in helpful tidbits but otherwise staying quiet in the dark of her consciousness. They had been growing a bit fainter as time went on.

Perhaps they’d one day fade away completely.

Pidge frowned at the thought before returning her attention to the creature she was holding in her mind’s eye.

Thick scaly skin. Reptilian eyes. Four powerful arms.

Once satisfied, she opened her eyes and blinked in surprise when she stood at eye level with Shay, the Balmeran girl giving her a look equal parts curiosity and suspicion. “If I hadn’t been here to see the whole thing, I would think you an imposter.”

A sharp grin pulled at Pidge’s face and she pressed down the thoughts that differentiated her from this new body.

She…no, he.

With every minute that ticked by, it was a little easier to differentiate between the two headspaces Pidge needed to maintain to keep the illusion alive.

Pidge was the Green Paladin of Voltron.

He, well he didn’t have a name yet, but he was an aimless traveler, searching the planets for somewhere he could settle. Somewhere they didn’t ask too many questions.

They turned their eyes to the Olkari researcher, the utter joy on the scientist’s face pulling a laugh from their throat, the sound low and gravelly.

“I knew you could do it!” He cheered, pushing a fist up into the air before turning the tablet he held under his arm, typing manically at the keys, “This is wonderful. The possibilities for such a technology are endless. Psychic projection could really change how we do so many things!”

The researcher’s enthusiasm was contagious and Pidge couldn’t help but smile along, the tap of cheerful footsteps into the bridge making them all look up in surprise. Coran basically ran into the bridge, his eyes alight and slightly out of breath from his run into the room.

“Is everything okay, Coran?” Shay asked lowly, her eyes creasing in concern.

“I was looking for Pidge! Yellow has started to show signs of Hunk on her scanners!” Coran cheered, “And it looks like she agrees with Red and Blue. That’s three of them giving us a push towards this planet. It’s not solid yet. We’ll definitely have to land somewhere on planet to give the Lions the opportunity to make a true deduction but we’re a step closer!”

He hesitated for a moment, looking around the room before his eyes widened and they locked on Pidge’s new form.

“Ah! A Unilu!” He shrieked, dropping into the same ridiculous fight pose he had adopted the first time he’d come out of the cryo pod, “Everyone stay back! The Unilu are dangerous and crafty creatures. If one of them made it onto the ship, they can rob us blind.”

Pidge sputtered out a laugh, her mental hold on the image fracturing. She felt a wave of vertigo as the machine reverted, her field of vision abruptly dropping as she went back to her old form. The utter shock and surprise on Coran’s face proved to be too much and she dissolved into giggles, her head still spinning from the abrupt break.

“Oh. You lost it.” The researcher sighed, shoulders dropping in disappointment.

“Just temporarily.” Pidge smiled, “I think this will really work. Thanks,….?”

The researcher perked up, his eyes going wide. “My name is Hardan!”

“Thanks, Hardan.” Pidge smiled, giving Coran a thumbs up, “I know how we’re going to get down there.”

~~~~

“Clever, to disguise yourself as a Unilu.” Amaladis hummed, “They are known for being untrustworthy throughout the universe. By putting that stigma on yourself, the soldiers would only look for the things that a Unilu would think to hide. There would be no inkling that you were anything but what you pretended to be.”

Pidge eyed the survivor of Guirguis warily, unsure how to take his praise. It had been Amaladis who had been the one most dead set on sacrificing her brain to the Hive Mind back on his home planet. Of everyone in the room, he should have the most reason to hate and despise her and her family.

And yet….he was _calm._

Almost resigned to the situation that had unfolded around him.

It set Pidge on edge.

“Aren’t you going to try something?” She blurted at last, fed up with the waiting, “You know, try to escape and take me down or something ridiculous like that? I kind of want to get it over with so I can finish the story.”

“In the spirit of the competition, it would be dishonorable to attack you before your tale is done.” Amaladis said, confusion evident in his tone, “In addition, if I were to attack and destroy you, who would that serve? My Hive Mind is fragmented. The addition of your mind would not save it. The part of the Hive Mind that had escaped with you has been reduced to two ancient minds. There is no reason for me to continue our conflict. Besides…you are not the one on whom I have declared my revenge.”

Pidge narrowed her tawny gaze at the warrior, the other members of the table giving him incredulous stares. “You and I both know there’s no way you’re going to find him after this.”

“That’s why it’s in my best interest to be patient, Green.” Amaladis hummed, “If you rescue him, I can follow across the universe. But if you fail, I will lose all avenues for my revenge. So, please do continue. Save your family. Save Red. I will see that he pays for what he did to my people.”

Gritting her teeth, Pidge barely bit back a snarl. “I won’t let you.”

“We shall see.”

The counter creaked under her grip and she edged her finger around the other button hidden beneath the ledge. It would be so easy to go ahead and use her plan for the Guirguisian. But Green growled in the back of her mind, displeasure coming across the bond.

She was better than this.

Once her family was back together again, she could take care of Amaladis’ threat.

And she _would._

“Well, go on.” Beryl prompted, still looking unnerved by the exchange that had just taken place.

“After I got my disguise perfected, I came down to the planet. It was as he said.” Pidge said tightly, nodding in Amaladis’ direction, “The guards only did the most cursory inspection. They found a few planted contraband items but nothing they weren’t expecting. From there, I just needed somewhere to set things up. Coincidentally, this is where that employer of yours comes in, Korvar.”

The grin that stretched Pidge’s face felt just this side of manic but she couldn’t help it.

That had been a game to remember.

~~~~

The street beneath her boots was dusty, the mostly nocturnal residents either asleep or holed up in what could pass for living quarters. The sun of Tenebrae’s system beat down on the hat that covered her head, disguised reptilian skin too delicate for that star’s searing rays.

It had taken about another month for her to completely master her disguised body, not to mention how to keep her thoughts compartmentalized.

Every day that passed only increased her worry but now that the Castle was down on the planet, the Lions were showing better signs. It may have been the stasis the other Paladins were in that were affecting the bonds.

Pidge heaved a sigh as she walked along the nigh deserted street, eyes keen for somewhere she could set up shop. She couldn’t keep making the trek into town from the Castle. Someone would get suspicious. They’d start to ask questions.

That was _last_ thing they needed right now.

A scuffle caught her attention and she looked over to where a body came flying out the double doors of a nearby bar. The guy scrambled across the dusty street as the bouncer came sauntering down the steps, cracking her knuckles in a distinctly menacing way.

“You heard the boss, rat. You owe everyone in that bar too much money.” She spat, “Either get lost or start coughing up some dough.”

“I already told all of you. I don’t have anything left!” The man squealed, the sound piercing to Pidge’s ears, “This is the only thing I could do to make the GAC to pay everyone back.”

“A shame you suck at cards then.”

Pidge perked up at the promise of cards, a plan forming at the back of her mind.

She _knew_ how to play cards. Matt and her father had taught her the Earth games and she’d routinely cleaned them out. After a few conversations with Coran, he’d taught her the space equivalent.

Pidge had a natural talent with the things. It didn’t hurt that she soon figured out how the rules were broken as well.

Lance, Hunk and Keith now owed her their first born child, her weight in pastries and a favor respectively.

Only Shiro seemed to avoid losing but she was sure he knew how to cheat just as well as she did. Sadly, Lance did not share their aptitude for cheating as she frequently caught him trying to slide cards up his sleeves.

But this…this she could work with.

The bouncer caught her eye and gave a wickedly sharp smirk. “Hey there, stranger. You seem awful excited. Thanks to this waste of space, we have an opening at the card table. You feel lucky today?”

“I’m always lucky.” Pidge grinned, showing off her disguised mouthful of sharp teeth as well.

“This I’d like to see.” She laughed, turning her back on the sniveling debtor and walking back up to the doors, “Come test that luck, stranger.”

Pidge followed after, moving through the doors of the bar nigh silently.

The inside was stifling, people milling about in the dank interior, a mess of spilled drinks, trash and blood coating the bar’s floor. Thick wooden table sat around the outside of the room while a trio of aliens brawled with one another in the center of the floor.

All in all, it was a wretched hive of scum and villainy.

Pidge loved it and hated it in equal measure.

It would be a perfect place to base her infiltration of Tenebrae’s base…and a great way to finally secure a steady income of GAC for the Paladins. It sucked that they were constantly broke, especially since the treasury full of Altean currency was useless.

But there would definitely need to be some changes.

Plan set, Pidge turned back to where the bouncer waited impatiently in front of a door to the backroom, eyes glinting in the dim light of the bar.

The room beyond the dank bar was basically sterile in comparison to filth that coated the floor of the bar proper. Three aliens sat around a wooden table, multicolored smoke leaking from the end of one’s pipe to hang like a cloud above them.

“Jeanix! Did you take care of that trash?” The tallest alien barked, barely looking up to where the bouncer had strode in, Pidge hot on her tail.

“Sure did, Bartel sir.” Jeanix hummed, “Found a new player too.”

“Good. Its quiznacking boring trying to play with these louts.” Bartel huffed, finally looking up to make eye contact with Pidge, “Oh good. A Unilu. Maybe this will actually be interesting.”

Pidge grit her teeth to keep from gasping in realization. So this was what happened to that trader they’d taken down. He’d decided to go into hiding.

He’d also been the one who’d put out the bounty that had gotten Hunk hurt.

Maybe this would be more fun than she’d thought.

“Nothing’s sadder than a boring card game.” She breezed, trying to channel the Unilu she’d met at the space mall with the others, “I hope I can live up to your expectations.”

The other two aliens at the table immediately looked nervous, looking between Bartel and Pidge as if waiting for a firefight to erupt.

Pidge idly hoped that it would. It was his fault that this whole thing had started.

Instead the alien trader laughed. Loudly.

“I can already tell that you will.”

Jeanix hustled Pidge to a chair and Pidge found herself thrown into the game, the other three moving quickly to accommodate the new player.

It wasn’t a difficult game to understand. It was a little bit like a mix of poker and Go Fish but the suits were completely different from what Pidge had learned from Earth.

The game was different from the one that Coran had taught but Pidge had always prided herself on picking things up pretty quickly.

It only took one loss to learn the rules.

After that, breaking them was child’s play. In fact, it was almost too easy to play at this particular version of poker. She barely even needed to cheat. She was pretty sure that Bartel was cheating too, but he was so obvious about it that the other players had caught him several times.

Were they really that bad or was this some kind of trap?

As collateral piled up on her side of the table, she was beginning to think that maybe they were actually that dumb.

At last, the other two players had to withdraw, their meager piles of money swept into the pile that surrounded her. “Guess it’s just me and you, Unilu.” Bartel said smoothly, acting so calm despite the fact that he kept losing more and more of his pile to Pidge’s encroaching conquest, “It’s too bad you won’t be leaving this room with all those winnings.”

“I guess you’ll be pulling some kind of great card out of nowhere?” Pidge smirked, high on her victory, “There is always a chance to win it all back.”

“Oh I won’t need that.” Bartel hummed, losing yet another round, “Not when I own this bar.”

Pidge frowned at the smug fish-looking alien in front of her, a tendril of worry worming its way through her victory high. “I see.”

“Jeanix will be more than happy to take those winnings off your hands.” Bartel grinned, “I thank you for cleaning out those other two out. They were proving a bit tough. But with such a skilled card player in our midst, they didn’t have a chance.”

“You let me clean them out. You’re letting me _clean you out_.” Pidge hissed, feeling the spark over her eyes as her eye color switched back to tawny for a moment before resuming its disguise.

“Of course.” Bartel guffawed, “I have a few standing contracts. This is an excellent way to make sure I keep the collateral on hand to keep them paid.”

“Contracts like the one you put out on the Green Paladin?” Pidge baited, unable to stop herself.

Bartel froze, his milky fish eyes going wide. “Korvar was supposed to keep that quiet.”

“That’s a shame. I’ve heard that the Green Paladin is already dead.”

“Liar.” Bartel spat, “If that little shit had died, it would have been news all over the Empire. The Emperor would have made sure everyone knew that their beloved Voltron had fallen.”

“Just seems a bit strange that Korvar hasn’t been back to collect. Maybe he’s decided to jump ship.”

“What do you care?”

Pidge hummed in consideration, eyes sharp as she looked at the man in front of her. “Why don’t you put the contract on the table? I’ll take possession of it. That way if the Paladin is really dead, I can take care of Korvar.”

“Korvar has been doing contracts for me for as long as I’ve been in this business.” Bartel snarled, “I won’t put one of his contracts up so easily.”

“Fair enough.” Pidge sighed, “How about this? Double or nothing. I’ll bet everything I have in the next game. But I want something significant of yours as collateral on your side.”

Bartel seemed to think for a minute, looking to the cards in his hand before staring beyond Pidge’s shoulder. “Double or nothing?” He hummed, “It would be an interesting game. How about we raise the stakes just a bit more. Bet your life on this game, Unilu.”

Pidge lifted an eyebrow at the alien in front of her. “What would you bet as collateral?”

“I’ll put this bar on the table. Win my game, you walk away with your money, your life and this bar.” Bartel grinned, “But be warned, I’ve been taking this whole thing easy.”

“I’m aware.” Pidge frowned, “No one with your experience should cheat that badly.”

“You’re better than I thought if you caught all that.” Bartel smirked, motioning to Jeanix broadly, “You’ve intrigued me. I’ll give you that, so I’ll humor your request for the double or nothing. Plus you seem to know more about what’s going on than I’d like. Either way, I win and we both know it.”

Pidge relaxed in her chair as he dealt the cards, eyes watching him like a hawk. Despite how easily she’d agreed to everything, inwardly she was sweating.

This had the potential to go bad very, very quickly.

There was no way she could lose this game, but Bartel was proving to be similar to Shiro in terms of what she could and couldn’t beat.

Her natural skill wasn’t much use in a game with a skilled cheater.

Her headmates pressed close as Green purred in the back of her mind, their support helping to solidify her resolve. She’d gotten this far and managed to get herself into this mess.

She’d get herself out.

The game began much like any of the others before it. It wasn’t long until Bartel started to show his competence.

It was similar to playing against Shiro but not quite.

Shiro was too honorable to play the way Bartel was playing. It was far too similar to the obviously amateur way Lance cheated.

While the Black Paladin would cheat, he’d never get caught. Bartel was still cheating up a storm but only half of it was where she could see.

She had to pull every trick she had in the book and still she only barely managed to keep Bartel in check.

The game seemed to last for hours, the noise from the bar beyond seeming to multiply as the time went on. It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes but every second seemed to stretch into eternity.

Sweat trickled down her brow as she kept playing, adrenaline and necessity keeping her going. Her persistence wore at her opposition and his frustration began to wear at the smug mask he kept up.

“What a game, right?” Pidge said softly, “Been going on for a while now. You’re probably getting tired, huh?”

“Taunting me isn’t going to work, Unilu.” Bartel snapped, “Just play your hand.”

Pidge smirked at his frustration, a small light of hope coming to life in her chest. With the way she’d been counting the cards and hiding certain ones in her sleeves, this might be it.

This might be the shittiest hand he’d had all game.

She laid her hand down softly, the cards a perfect spread. Bartel laid his down as well, swearing up a blue streak.

“You cheated.”

Pidge couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Can you prove it?”

Bartel lifted a hand before his voice failed and he glared across the table. “Doesn’t matter. Jeanix!”

The bouncer stuck her head in, an irritated expression lighting up her face. “Yeah, Boss?”

“Escort this trash to the pit.”

She looked between them carefully before a sharp grin came over her face. “I’m afraid that isn’t going to fly, Mr. Bartel.”

“Excuse me?”

Pidge looked to the bouncer curiously as well, eyes going wide as she saw a strip of ginger hair fade in and out of the crown of her head. “Looks to me like the Unilu won. I’d be happy to watch over the signing of the deed though.”

“I am your boss!”

“I work for this bar technically. And technically that makes that Unilu my boss.” Jeanix smirked, stomping over to where Bartel was practically purple in the face.

“If you don’t want to conduct this deal like an adult, I’m sure Jeanix here wouldn’t mind escorting you out.” Pidge drawled, turning her gaze to where Bartel sputtered and spat.

He jerked a gun from his coat and leveled it at Pidge’s face. A split second of fear made Pidge’s body go cold before she reacted, slamming one hand into his elbow while the other three pushed him to the table and grabbed the gun.

She gave it a cursory look over before disassembling the gun and laying the pieces out on the table as Bartel looked on helplessly. “I was going to be content to just take the bar but now I want it all. The contracts, the rest of your collateral from your time as a trader. Give me all of it. And maybe Jeanix won’t be showing you to the pit.”

Bartel swallowed nervously, pulling various tablets from his pockets, face going to the palest blue Pidge had ever seen on one of his race. “How-how did you know about all that?”

“Let’s just say, that I have a very big friend who is very acquainted with you.”

Bartel went quiet at that, emptying his pockets as quickly as he possibly could before scuttling out the door. “I won’t forget this.” He vowed, looking distinctly diminished as he escaped.

Once the room went quiet, Pidge slumped against the table, letting the disguise drop and burying her face in her hands. “I don’t think I’ve ever had to work that hard to win a game of cards.”

Jeanix only sighed and began to morph, a tall Altean man coming to replace her as he strode to the other side of the table. Coran ruffled her hair and began stacking the cash that was spread all around her slumped figure. “How long did you know I was in here, Coran?” Pidge grumbled, looking up to see the advisor giving her a cheeky grin.

“Since the beginning. I followed you into town.” Coran hummed, “You are quite the trouble magnet, Number Five. I would go through and get those deeds signed though. The real Jeanix is on her break, convinced that her replacement for the night could take care of the bar.”

“Oh, oh my god. Coran, I own a bar now.”

~~~~

 The look on Korvar’s face was almost enough to make her bust a gut but she held herself back, only letting the wide grin on her lips show how badly she wanted to laugh.

“You…but, you…I…what?” Korvar stumbled, almost looking like he’d been struck dumb.

“I own my own bounty?” Pidge filled in, “Why yes. Yes I do.”

Beryl exchanged a look with Maltis and they both relaxed back into their chairs. Their sudden ease made Pidge nervous and she gave them a searching look. “And why do you two look so comfy all the sudden?”

“Well, if you own his contract that means you also own the debt we’d owed to Bartel.” Beryl shrugged, “Means we work for you now.”

“I thought you two worked for yourselves? You know, trying to make a fortune of fame from the underworld of the universe? Why else would you go after the shrimp here?” Korvar groaned, letting his head hang back.

“Not gonna lie, I’m pretty curious too.” Pidge huffed, “You two didn’t have anything in Bartel’s records.”

“We made a deal with that fish-eyed devil when we first got off planet. Off the books.” Maltis said bitterly, “We’d do work for him in exchange for our ship. But now we don’t have to. I guess we work for you now. Although, we’re still out for our own glory. No offense.”

“Forgive me if I’m not immediately jumping on board with having two murderous twins working for me.” Pidge said dryly, “But I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Just what did you do with the rest of your time?” Saftoliyir sneered, finally recovered from the psychic backlash of the screech Pidge had programmed into the bar’s speakers.

“I investigated the town and the base. I got inside a few times. Got far enough that I know where I need to go from here. I fixed up the bar when I couldn’t get into the base and that turned into something I hadn’t even expected. More Galra soldiers started coming and that info made the difference.” Pidge mused, “And then I started pulling strings. Little tugs here and there on those that came through my bar. Months of planning finally culminating in the scene right here.”

The communicator in her hand flared green and Pidge hopped off the bar and padded over to the table. “Think carefully about what originally brought you to Tenebrae. And then think again.” Pidge laughed, “I did whatever I could to get all of you here now. Mostly so I could get my revenge but also for this. I’ll leave the competition’s winner for you to decide. I’d decide quickly though. Those bindings will let up at dawn and after that, I’m sure you won’t be finding the hospitality here to your liking.”

“What did you do?” Dantanelle said softly, his voice tight and dangerous.

“It’s not what I did.” Pidge sighed heavily, “It’s what you’re doing right now. Six people taking on six different entrances to a well-fortified base is a big deal. And you’re all exceptionally recognizable. Enough so that a group of Olkari and Balmerans could hold your image in their minds long enough to be caught on cameras. As far as the Galra are concerned, you’re all rebels. And they’ll be coming after you. Good luck.”

The table was quiet for a moment before yelling erupted from the six bound around the circle, threats and promises of revenge ringing in Pidge’s ears even after she snagged her cape and took off into the basement below the bar. The door slammed and locked behind her, the darkness only broken by the light of Shay’s glowing eyes.

“I think you are the slightest bit dramatic, Pidge.” Shay said tiredly, her voice almost scolding as Pidge scampered down the stairs, following the sound of Shay’s voice clumsily.

“I couldn’t help it.” Pidge giggled, “I think Lance may have rubbed off on me.”

“There is no ‘may’ about it, Pidge. But enough. If you’ve received Coran’s signal, then we don’t have much time.”

“I know.” Pidge said intently, roping down the furious hope in her heart, “We have about an hour. The tunnel goes straight in right?”

“Yes. I waited until the last minute to knock in the last bit. You have about five of your Earth minutes before the next patrol will be by.”

Pidge nodded in the darkness and took off towards where the lanterns illuminated the far cavern in soft silvery blue light. “Oh! And Pidge?” Shay began, waiting for Pidge to turn back around, “Be careful.”

“I will.” Pidge promised, running down the length of the hallway before her, her large cape billowing out behind her, bayard clutched tightly in her hand.

It had been so long.

So very, very long since she’d seen her space family and now she was almost there. It had taken efforts beyond what she could have imagined to get them out but it was worth it.

It had all come down to this.

She was going to save them!

“ _Pidge, do you read me?”_ Coran’s voice crackled over the com hooked haphazardly over her ear.

“Loud and clear, Coran. I’m coming up on the tunnel entrance.” She relayed, skidding to a stop at the end and peeking out before hopping down to the floor below, her jetpack off-putting some of the impact.

” _Be careful. We’re already showing signs of the druids within the compound.”_ Hardan added, the sound of clicking echoing as Pidge looked around, her map pulled up over one wrist.

Four blinking signals sat at the center of the compound: red, blue, yellow and black. “I have confirmation on the boys. I can only assume that they’ll be keeping Allura nearby.”

_“Affirmative, Number Five. The Castle has begun reacted to the Princess’s quintessence.”_

“You’re back already?” Pidge whistled quietly, diving into an alcove to avoid the telltale eyes of a blinking camera on the far end of the corridor, “Hardan, if I can get to the camera over there, can you disable them?”

“ _I’m not you but I should be able to do something.”_ Hardan fumbled, “ _Just wire me in.”_

Pidge mumbled her thanks into the com unit, before kicking off hard from the wall behind her and engaging the jetpack in her suit, the cloak around her billowing enough to hopefully shield her from the camera’s sight.

Let them think they were under attack. But letting the druids know she was here was asking for trouble.

Between her jetpack and the kick she made it over to the camera, deft fingers plugging and pulling cables until she heard a jubilant shout from Hardan’s end of the com. “ _And we are in! Go for it, Paladin!”_

Pidge dropped back down to the ground and continued on her path, a bit nervous about the lack of obstacles but resigned to continuing forward.

If this was a trap, she couldn’t afford not to spring it. Her family was still in there and she would fight through the universe itself to get back to them.

Door after door fell to Hardan’s keys and Pidge surged forward, every step a step closer to the family she had been missing.

She came to the last door almost in disbelief, the clear glass the only thing separating her from the people she had come to save. Pidge pressed her hand against the glass for a moment staring at the four tubes that the boys floated in, their faces drawn in confusion even as they slumbered on.

A platform in the middle was equidistant from each of the boys and Allura sat in the middle of it, her shoulders slumped and her white hair a tangled and snarled mess.

The Altean princess only dared to look up for a moment, blue eyes dull and tired. She looked sick and thin, a lot of healthy weight gone from her face. Pidge could feel her heart in her throat as she looked on.

Allura had suffered these last six months. To be so close to her family and unable to reach them. To be kept weak and hungry so that she couldn’t use the strength of her race to fight back.

It broke Pidge’s heart.

She met Allura’s eyes and the princess glanced back down for only a moment before her head snapped back up, limbs pulling against the shackles upon them. She could read the shape of her name on Allura’s lips and the relieved tears on her face shimmered in the dim light of the holding room.

That relief immediately turned to horror and Allura gestured wildly with her bound arms. Pidge only hesitated for a moment before ducking down and turning, just barely being missed by the sharpness of Druidic claws.

“We knew the Princess was telling us lies.” The druid behind her laughed, clawed hands ready for another strike.

“She didn’t lie.” Pidge snarled, “She didn’t know. As far as Allura was concerned, Saftoliyir had killed me.”

“A lie born of ignorance is still a lie.” The druid sniffed, striking out at Pidge.

For a moment, Pidge’s heart threatened to stop in her chest.

This was it. The moment of truth.

Amaris and Vicarys pressed along her consciousness, fainter than they had ever been as all three of them waited for the results of their experiment.

The druid thrust their arm forward, sparks circling up their arm before they finally sputtered and died, the druid looking down at their arm in alarm.

Exhilarated, Pidge dove forward, spinning out with her bayard. The hook caught the druid by the chin and sent him stumbling backwards. Wasting no time, Pidge followed after, driving her small fists into every unprotected area she could find.

This was the monster that had stolen her family. A monster she had reduced to her level, a being of the darkness that she had stolen the power from.

She would not risk them continuing on after her.

Pidge punched and kicked until the druid fell still and then she turned back to the glass room, Allura’s incredulous expression lighting a fire in Pidge’s soul.

“Hardan, get this door open!”

_“Already on it!”_

_“Excellent work, Number Five.”_

Pidge couldn’t help but smile at Coran’s praise, the door opening up with a sharp hiss before a loud alarm began blaring through the compound.

_“Pidge! The Alarm has locked Hardan out of the system. You’re on your own!”_

Pidge nodded gravely, diving into the room and closing the doors behind her before any guards could run past and see it lying open.

“Pidge.” Allura whispered, her voice weaker than Pidge had ever heard it, “You, you’re alive!”

“Yeah.” She returned, her heart aching at how quiet Allura was, “But if we don’t hurry, we’re all not gonna stay that way.”

Pidge moved forward, using the blade of her bayard to sever the chains that held Allura captive, the loud zap of the impact making Allura flinch badly enough to make Pidge furious. Her previously bloodied dress was gone, a dark gray tunic and pants replacing it. Allura’s body shook as she moved to her feet but it was like a fire had been lit back within her eyes.

“Forgive me but I do not have much strength at the moment.” Allura gasped, even the act of standing seeming as if it taxed her.

“Save what you do have. I’m going to get the boys out.”

“Be careful, Pidge. While they have not seen the same atrophy as I have, they have been asleep a long time.” Allura warned.

“Yeah, I know.” Pidge muttered, “Coran and I tried to come up with a few things we could do to wake them up faster. But we didn’t have a lot of success.”

Keeping a careful watch on the glass door in her periphery, Pidge went to each tank and hacked into the mainframe.

The tubes began to drain slowly, each minute making Pidge’s adrenaline and anxiety spike. They didn’t have long to get everyone out and that alarm just kept going, the siren making Pidge’s ears ring and her hands shake.

Lance’s tube drained first and his forehead clunked against the glass of his tube with a thud that made Pidge wince. The impact seemed to jerk Lance from his sleep and his eyes fluttered, foggy cerulean depths revealed with a slowness that seemed to stretch on for an eternity.

He woke up slowly and then all at once, mind immediately going into a panic as he registered where he was. His armor had been stripped away and only his flight suit remained, soggy white bandages wrapped tightly around his chest. “Pidge?” He said hoarsely, voice echoing strangely in the tube as he looked out of it, “Where am I?”

“This is a rescue.” Pidge smiled, a few relieved tears dripping down her face, “I’m saving you. All of you.”

She felt something in her heart ease when Lance gave her a soft smile. “I’m proud of you, Pidgey.”

Pidge snorted at the nickname before fiddling with the controls of his tube, the glass opening up around him with a sharp hiss. Lance stepped out of the tube gingerly, his steps hesitant as his legs threatened to give out on him.

“If I feel this much like a noodle, I can only imagine everyone else.” Lance joked, eyes slipping past to where Allura leaned against the pedestal weakly, “Allura? Oh, _dios,_ Allura.”

He stumbled over to where Allura sat, a fierce looking coming to his face. “Pidge, how long have we been here?”

“About six months.” Pidge whispered, a tendril of guilt threatening to choke her.

She had taken so long. So _very, very_ long to rescue everyone.

“I’m sorry.” She breathed, a short hiccup escaping her despite her best attempts, “I’m sorry it took so long.”

A thud against the glass of the tube next to her made all three of them jump and she looked up to see Keith scowling down at her, his soaking wet hair slicked back so he could see.

Lance gave a soft gasp from his place at Allura’s side and Pidge couldn’t help the watery smile that pulled over face.

“Don’t apologize.” Keith said fiercely, violet eyes almost pleading, “Not when you must have gone through hell to get to us.”

Pidge nodded at that, repeating the procedure in order to free the Red Paladin. Keith took his first steps just as gingerly as Lance, his slightly singed armor clipping the opening of the tube just enough to make him lurch forward.

Pidge took a step towards him but Lance beat her to the punch, arms coming up to catch the falling Keith.

It was kind of adorable.

As both of them blushed and sputtered, Pidge turned to the other two tubes.

Shiro’s had long since drained away but his eyes still moved restlessly, as if he were dreaming. And judging by his facial expression, it wasn’t a very good dream. Pidge laid a hand on the tube gently, silently beseeching him to wake up.

They didn’t have a lot of time.

She turned her gaze to Hunk’s tube, the last of the liquid draining away just in time for Hunk’s eyes to open slowly and steadily, foggy recognition filling them before they lit up with an inner fire.

He pressed his hands to the glass, a wild grin on his face as he looked down on Pidge. “You’re okay!”

“I’m okay?!” Pidge sputtered, righteous indignation flaring to life in her chest, “Hunk, a building fell on you!”

Hunk rubbed his head sheepishly as Pidge fiddled with the controls to let him out, grumbling under her breath with every key she smashed. Unlike the others, Hunk all but burst out of his tube, taking the opportunity to pull Pidge into a tight embrace. “I was so worried he went after you when the building fell.”

Pidge hugged back fiercely, willing herself to stay strong until they were all safe.

Then she could cry.

“We won’t have to worry about that anymore. I own his contract.”

Hunk pulled back to look at her suspiciously, a frown on his face. “I get the feeling that you’ve gotten into a lot of trouble.”

“You have no idea.” Pidge snickered, turning back to where Shiro still had yet to stir.

“Why isn’t he waking up?” Keith said softly, his voice carrying from where he stood firmly at Lance’s side, the two of them shoulder to shoulder.

“They were far more thorough in Shiro’s sedation than all of yours.” Allura croaked, her voice wrecked, “I imagine they did not want to risk him escaping once more.”

Wiggling her way out from Hunk’s embrace, Pidge stood in front of Shiro’s tube, a frown on her face.

She didn’t come all this way just to have this stop her.

No.

She was leaving her with all of them.

Pidge dropped down, fiddling with the controls so Shiro’s pod hissed open, the Black Paladin falling forward without the glass there to stop him. Hunk stepped forward and easily caught his weight with a grunt, pulling Shiro’s arms around his wide shoulders. “Got him.”

Shiro’s head lolled once and Pidge swallowed her anxiety down, eyes turning forward. “Alright, listen up. We don’t have a lot of time to get out of here. One of the inventions I devised to get in her will overload soon.

“ _About thirty of your Earth minutes left, Pidge.”_

“Fuck. Oka, so we have half an hour, the alarms are blaring, and Shiro won’t wake up.” Pidge rambled, hands moving even as she talked a mile a minute, “This is fine. This is just fine.”

She handed Lance his bayard and gave Allura one of the strange Altean staffs almost absently, a part of her a bit relieved to not be the only one outwardly armed.

She was pretty sure Keith and Hunk still had possession of their bayards, so with Shiro’s hand, they made sure all of them were armed in some way.

“Just follow me. And don’t wander off. This place is basically a maze. It took me way longer than I really want to admit to get just this part mapped out.”

Her heart threatened to jump into her throat when everyone only looked at her fondly, nodding along with her instructions.

“Lead on, Pidge.” Keith smiled, gesturing to the glass door ahead of them.

Fighting back tears, she turned on her heel and marched up to the aforementioned door.

After everything, after sacrificing themselves to protect her, they were trusting her to lead them out of the mess they’d landed in.

They trusted her to get them out.

God, she loved these idiots.

The doors whooshed open as she strode forward, anticipation and adrenaline making the line of her back tight with tension.

She’d been scoping this place out for months. She knew there were more druids here than the one she intentionally stepped on as she left the room.

So where were they?

The quintessence blockers would hopefully prevent the irritating teleportation they used to get along but the Druids were still Galra. They were hardly defenseless.

The snap of cloth was her only warning as a pair of druids dove at her from around the corner, sharp claws outstretched. She bit back a yelp and let herself fall to the floor, a beam of blue catching one of her assailants in the chest and distracting the other one long enough for Pidge to land a foot at their throat.

The druid choked, hands flying to where they struggled to draw breath. “How?!” The druid wheezed, falling still when Pidge landed a swift kick to the temple.

She gave a cursory look back to see all but Keith looking at her incredulously. “You’ve been training? It’s almost like you wanted to get better at hand to hand.” The Red Paladin grinned, throwing a smirk in Lance’s direction, “We’ll have to spar sometime.”

A startled laugh pulled itself from Pidge’s throat and she resumed her forward facing positon. “I don’t know, Keith. I fight dirty.”

“You’re small.” He said bluntly, slipping Allura’s arm over his shoulders as her strength began to flag, “It wouldn’t make sense for you to fight fair.”

“Just remember that when she knocks you on your ass, mullet.” Lance laughed, the sound doing wonders to help Pidge’s tension.

She’d missed all of them _so much_.

“Hey guys, I think Shiro is finally coming around.” Hunk said urgently.

Pidge turned back for a moment, jaw set in a deep frown.

They didn’t have the luxury of time. Shiro might be a bit confused if he woke up while they were on the move but that was something Pidge was willing to risk.

“We must keep moving.” Allura huffed, her eyes meeting Pidge’s in understanding.

Just try to keep him calm if and when he does finally wake up.”

A dep breath later, Pidge was leading her ragtag party through the halls she had traversed so quickly on her own.

Coran kept her appraised of their time limit, his anxiety mirroring hers with every minute that passed by.

She stuck her head out cautiously as they rounded the last corner, breathing a sigh of relief as she saw the tunnel entrance and a distinct lack of guards around the opening.

They might actually be able to make it.

The clomp of heavy footsteps made her heart stutter and she turned, several rows of Galra sentries marching down the hall right at them.

“Go!” She hissed, jerking Lance back from where he had taken a protective step forward, “We don’t have time to be heroes, Lance! This place is going to explode in less than ten minutes!”

“Pidge, they’re going to catch up to us before we all get in there. Allura can barely move on her own and Shiro still hasn’t woken up. We have to do something!” Lance argued, cerulean eyes steely.

“Don’t you think I know that?!” Pidge snapped, unwilling to take her eyes off the enemies approaching her family, “But I didn’t come this far to lose you guys to a bunch of fucking sentries!”

A few rogue tears escaped her eyes and Lance immediately looked as if she’d ripped his heart out. “Pidge…” He whispered, the others slowing to a stop when Lance didn’t follow after them.

“Just go!” Pidge frowned, tawny eyes bright with determination, “Shay is waiting at the end of the tunnel.”

Lance stared for a moment before lurching forward to wrap his gangly arms around her. ‘You better be right behind us. You owe me a face punch, remember?”

“I owe you all one.”

“Mine is special.”

Pidge laughed weakly when Lance pressed a kiss to the top of her head before finally doing as she asked.

She faced down the oncoming sentries bravely, Green letting out a roar of frustration in the back of her mind. She was too far into enemy territory for her Lion to come to her rescue.

This was probably one of the worst situations she had found herself in recently but she couldn’t bring herself to regret it.

If anything, she understood.

Sometimes, taking the hit for someone else isn’t just about protecting them. IT can be about showing how much you care for that person. It can be because you couldn’t imagine that person taking a hit when you could prevent it. IT can be about being protective and it can be about feeling responsible.

But she knew, as she dove into the fray with the sentries, that her family hadn’t protected her because they thought her incapable.

They protected her because they thought so much of her, of her brain, her place in their family and her potential, that the thought of that being extinguished pushed them to endanger themselves instead.

She swung her bayard up, the hook latching one of the sentries and zapping, the smoking robot falling to a heap just in time for her to fling it into another robot.

Her enormous cloak helped to throw off he sentries’ aim, the shots passing close enough to singe but leaving her otherwise unharmed.

Every sentry downed was another minute her family had to get to safety. Another minute closer to them getting back to the castle.

She was down to the last few sentries when the first explosion rang out, the vibration rocking the whole compound.

Pidge used the distraction to wipe out the remaining sentries and kick off towards the tunnel high up in the wall.

There wasn’t much longer until the whole place went up in smoke.

She made it to the mouth of the tunnel just as blinding, excruciation pain lit up her back, the sizzle of melted armor and an echoing zap giving her a pretty good idea of what had happened.

She tumbled forward into the tunnel with a shrill shriek as her tumble turned into a roll, the contact with the ground making her body scream in pain.

The soft flutter of cloth made her look up and grimace at the druid staring down at her, implacable mask disguising their face.

“We knew you would be a problem.” The druid snarled, “You’re much too intelligent for your own good, kit. A shame it hadn’t killed you before now.”

Heavy steps from further down the tunnel made the druid glance up, the familiar sound of a druid-made weapon activating helping Pidge steel herself.

With a colossal effort, she curled her legs in and struck, catching the distracted druid in the stomach just as the room outside the tunnel erupted in fire.

The druid stumbled backwards from the hit, their heel catching the lip of the tunnel and pitching them into the fire beyond.

A shriek echoed into the tunnel just as Shiro, Lance, and Keith skidded to a stop, the three of them looking a bit shell-shocked from the events that had occurred.

“What are you three doing?” Pidge gasped, “That isn’t’ the last bomb!”

Shiro’s eyebrows flew up before he scooped Pidge from the ground and took off in the other direction.

It was a bit strange to watch the fire chase them down the tunnel, a special kind of panic on Lance and Keith’s face as they fought to keep up with Shiro’s frantic pace.

Her last thought before she surrendered to unconsciousness was how cute they looked holding hands and running for their lives.

~~~~

It was strange to be unconscious again. Especially with how faint and quiet her headmates had grown since they’d cracked the puzzle of the quintessence blockers.

They lounged at the edge of her mental plain, their colors faded to a dull grey.

As Pidge floated in the coolness, her thoughts tinged with ice, they stood, the figures they cut slowly dissolving.

“Is this it?” Pidge mumbled, reaching out to her constant companions for the last six months.

“Afraid so, Greenie.” Amaris laughed, “With your help, we finally finished our research…”

“Now that it’s done, well, it’s time we moved on.” Vicarys continued, “Besides, you have your family back now!”

“There’s always more to research.” Pidge offered weakly, her argument half-hearted at best.

A part of her had known this was coming. Minds like Amaris and Vicarys would have long been lost to the sands of time if not for the interference of the Hive Mind.

This was inevitable.

“Ain’t that the truth?” Amaris sighed, flipping her greyed out hair, “But not for us, Greenie. We’ve been dead for a long time…”

“And no mind is meant to endure this long.” Vicarys clucked, “We’re tired. But this time with you has been great, Pidge. Go be something fantastic. Discover things so amazing that the whole universe knows your name.”

Pidge nodded at them solemnly, a single tear tracing down her face.

“Cheer up Pidge.” Amaris giggled, “You’re waking up.”

The blue of the healing pod dominated her vision as she was jerked back to wakefulness abruptly.

Her head swam for a moment at the sudden wake up and she let her head rest against the glass.

The lid fell away and she stumbled out, her unsteady form caught by burly arms before she could hit the floor.

She snuggled into Hunk’s warmth for a moment before standing up and rubbing at her cheek. A teardrop shaped piece of ice came off on her hand and she clutched in her hand tightly.

Pidge would miss her headmates. They’d been there for her over the last six months and she would miss their constant presence.

She let her eyes slip closed for a moment before she turned eyes back to her reunited family.

Hunk stood only a few steps away, his apron still tied snuggly over his clothes.

“Welcome back, Pidge.” He said warmly, stepping aside so the other inhabitants of the room could beam at her.

Lance dragged Keith over so he could squash her between them, a relieved laugh being pulled from both of them as she wiggled away from the space heaters she considered family.

“I think I owe you something, Lance.” She chirped, the resulting horror on Lance’s face making her cackle.

“Enough with the punching.” Shiro chortled, a much healthier Allura surging past him to wrap Pidge in the clingiest hug Pidge had ever experienced.

“Do not scare me like that ever again!” the Princess blubbered, her grip so tight Pidge could hear her back pop, “For six months, I thought you were dead. I could barely believe my eyes when I saw you back there.”

The princess’s sobbed words pulled a solemn cloud over the room, the boys hanging their heads with guilt as Allura continued to cry into Pidge’s hair.

“This was all pretty messed up, huh?” Keith said at last, Lance’s hand clutched tightly in his own, “We’re supposed to be a team and yet…”

“We all let ourselves get captured and left Pidge alone.” Lance sighed, “We kind of fractured.”

“We’ve all been scared.” Shiro admitted, his weary voice drawing Pidge’s attention, “We let that fear divide us. It led us to die in front of one another rather than standing side by side.”

“I can’t blame any of you.” Pidge said with a derisive chuckle, “Especially when I did the same thing the moment the opportunity presented itself.”

“Maybe it’s something that comes along with being family.” Hunk added, voice rough.

“Then we’ll simply have to grow stronger together so we can protect each other.” Allura sniffled, pushing back so she could give Pidge a watery smile.

“Speaking of protecting, what happened after you guys went down the tunnel?” Pidge asked, looking around the room at her family, “How long was I out?”

Clearly it was long enough for Lance and Keith to get their shit together but not quite long enough for Allura and Shiro to stop dancing around each other.

“Well, we had made it to Shay when we heard you scream. That’s what eventually woke Shiro up, you know. He’s the best Space Dad.” Lance started, ignoring the glower Shiro sent in his direction, “So Shiro takes off after you and Keith and I followed him because I didn’t want to leave in the first place and Keith because he wanted to fight something-“

“Did not!”

“I tried to follow but Shay kind of had me caught in a hug and refused to let go.” Hunk grumbled, “Plus Allura wasn’t doing so hot.”

“Still haven’t told me how long I’ve been out.” Pidge hummed, lifting one feathery eyebrow.

“It’s been about a week and a half, Pidge.” Shiro answered, “You were hurt pretty bad.”

“Shit.” Pidge groaned, rubbing her eyes and ignoring Shiro’s pointed cough, “Who’s watching my bar?”

“Your what now?”

“My bar?” Pidge said slowly, eyes moving between her fellow Paladins before she blinked brightly, “Oh. I guess I didn’t explain that I own a bar now.”

“How?!” Lance shrieked, eyes wide.

“I won it in a card game.”

Allura looked at her in consideration, tilting her head to the side. “That may prove useful.”

Shiro groaned before dragging a hand down his face. “You’ll have to tell us the whole story.”

“I plan on it.” Pidge smirked, “Now I honestly think I deserve one of Hunk’s desserts.”

“You deserve a group hug.”

Despite her squeals of protest, she let her family hold her close.

It wasn’t perfect and they had a lot that would still need to be fixed but for this moment, all was well in her world.

~~~~

Matt stomped his boots at the door of the Lion’s Den, trying in vain to dislodge the thick red dust coating the outside.

He turned to his companion with a grumbled sigh. “Are you sure this is the right place?”

Maez sighed and dipped her head in a birdlike nod. “You’ve heard the same rumors I have, Matt.” She recited, “After the Galra compound went down, everyone started saying that Tenebrae was under Voltron’s protection. This bar is supposedly owned by the Green Paladin. This is the best place to get in contact with Voltron.”

“Still seems too good to be true. We barely know anything about Voltron.”

“I understand your suspicion, Matt.” Maez consoled, “but the rebels need Voltron’s help if we’re going to continue.”

They pushed through the double doors without another word, the patrons of the surprisingly clean bar barely sparing them a second glance.

Matt gave the place a cursory look-over before whistling lowly. “This was not what I was expecting.”

Maez laughed in agreement before weaving her way through the patrons to the bar itself, a furry eared woman working the bar with a strained smile. “Don’t know what that runt was thinking…this was not in my contract.”

She looked up at their approach, her surly expression going oddly blank when Matt made eye contact. “What can I get for you?”

“We were hoping to get in contact with Voltron. Would you be able to help us?” Maez asked smoothly as Matt nodded along, the woman regarding them suspiciously.

“Blue? Sugar honey sweet cheeks? We have another one!” The woman called into the back room after a moment of consideration.

A pan clattered in the back, an accompanying growl making the woman in front of them grin mischievously.

A dark haired boy burst out of the back, a lanky boy with caramel skin trying in vain to hold him back.

“Babe, babe, chill.” The caramel skinned boy snickered, “At this point she’s only doing it to piss you off.”

“Well, it’s working!” You’re _my_ boyfriend!” The dark haired boy fumed, “I told her to stop!”

Matt peered at the duo for a moment before realization clicked, his eyebrows flying into his hair.

They were _human._

“How did you guys get out here?” He asked excitedly, surging into their path, “I haven’t seen any other humans so…why are you looking at me like that?”

Both boys were looking at him incredulously, eyes wide. They gave each other a look before retuning their gazes to him, the silence unsettling.

“Oh my god, you’re Matt.” The lanky boy whispered, the words making unease tickle at Matt’s spine.

“Lance, we have to call the Castle!”

“We’ll lose the bet!”

“This is a bit more important than some stupid bet!”

Matt cleared his throat loudly and they glared at him as the noise interrupted their budding argument. “What are you two talking about?”

The lanky boy groaned loudly and turned back to the room they had departed. “Fine, Keith. You win. We’ll call them. Follow us, Matt.”

Matt frowned deeply and glanced back to where Maez was deep in conversation with the bartender. She lifted an eyebrow at his hesitation and he huffed.

It wasn’t his favorite thing but these boys really did seem like they knew what was going on. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad to give it a chance.

He took the few steps into the back room, blinking in surprise at the broad high-tech screen that took up the back wall. An abandoned retro game system sat to the side but it was the person on the screen that really gave Matt pause.

She was _gorgeous._

Silky white hair fell in enormous curls, pointed ears poking out of the cloud-like tresses. Her blue eyes went wide and Matt snapped his gaping mouth closed.

Now as not the time to be perfecting a fish impression.

“You were not kidding.” She said in surprise, her lightly accented voice smooth over Matt’s ears.

“You thought we were doing it to get out of training, didn’t you?” The lanky boy pouted, the beautiful woman on the screen giggling a little at his expression.

A gunmetal gray arm came out to wrap around the beautiful woman’s shoulders and a familiar, sharply grinning face peeked into the side of the screen. “Can you blame us? This isn’t the first time you’ve called like this.”

“I don’t see how working at the bar is going to help us work on diplomacy.” The dark haired boy grumbled.

“There are all different skills necessary for your development as Paladins. Use this as an opportunity.”

“Paladins?” Matt sputtered, “You two are Paladins?”

“Matt?” the familiar face asked, onyx eyes going wide.

“We did call for a reason, Shiro.” The dark haired boy sighed, “We figured Pidge would want to hear about this.”

“Pidge?” Matt mumbled, “What are you guys talking about?”

The beautiful woman stepped to the side and Shiro stepped fully into the screen, the sight of him easing some of Matt’s tension about the whole situation.

“They’re talking about our Green Paladin, Matt.” Shiro said softly, a smile curving his face, “I think you’ll want to meet her. We can land the Castle nearby. Lance, Keith. Try to keep him out of trouble until we get there.”

“If he’s anything like Pidge, we’ll have our work cut out for us.” Lance groaned, frowning at the screen.

Keith nodded along in solidarity, giving Matt a quick smile. “Why don’t you hang out at the bar? It won’t take them long to get back.”

Matt nodded absently walking back out to where the furry eared woman continued talking to Maez, their conversation far more animated than he was expecting.

“Oh, Matt! You’re back. You should really hear about this Green Paladin.” Maez laughed, “Beryl here was telling me about how she’s easily the most dangerous of the five Paladins! She says she’s the one that took down the compound!”

“Sounds a bit too good to be true.” Matt laughed.

“Oh it’s true alright.” Beryl grinned, “You didn’t see it go down. I did. She was quite a force to be reckoned with.”

Another furry eared man emerged from the back a heavy tray clutched in one hand, Keith hot on his tail with yet another heavy tray. “She’s telling the truth.” He sighed, tail flipping Keith into irritation, “We were all lured here through her machinations. She used our images as distractions and then infiltrated the compound, rescuing the other Paladins and blowing the whole place up.”

“Yeah, Pidge is a little hellion.” Keith added, swatting at the tail that kept hovering around his face.

A loud thud rocked the bar and Matt startled badly, the rest of the patrons paying very little attention to the vibration.

“Oh, they’re back.” Beryl sniffed, “Well, you wanted Voltron. You’re about to get it.”

“Excellent.” Maez grinned, starting for the door, “I told you we’d be able to find them.”

Matt sighed and shrugged, a smile starting to pull at his face.

He had a pretty good idea who the Green Paladin was, especially with the way everyone kept hinting at it. There shouldn’t be any way that his little sister had followed him into space but he’d seen impossible things in his time since the Kerberos mission.

What was one more?

He followed Maez out into the dusty road once more, a bright white Castle touching down on the outside of town, a ramp descending to touch the red ground.

The two of them picked their way through the mess of buildings to the entrance of the Castle, waiting patiently as the beautiful woman from before walked down with Shiro at her side. “It is good to finally meet you, Matt.” She smiled, “I am Princess Allura. I’ve heard so much about you.”

“It’s my pleasure to meet you as well.” Matt flirted, his words trailing off slightly at the glower he could feel directed at his head from Shiro.

“As wonderful as it was to meet you, I think there’s someone who has been looking for you for a very long time.” Allura grinned, stepping aside to let a blur of green and white fly past her.

Matt didn’t have a minute to prepare himself as said blur met his middle and tackled him back down the ramp. They rolled to the bottom in a heap and Matt couldn’t help but laugh when a pair of teary tawny eyes looked up at him in disbelief.

“I can’t believe you found us.” She cried, the face of his little sister blotched red as she looked up from where she had buried her head in his chest.

“Well, we heard some pretty crazy rumors about Voltron and its dangerous Green Paladin.” Matt laughed, ruffling her hair, “I’d be crazy not to try and track down something like that.”

Maez leaned over the pile of Holts and smiled. “Well, that and we need your help. Who better to help the rebels than the most dangerous Paladin that Voltron has.”

“I guess I finally found out who they determined to be the winner.” Pidge giggled and Matt couldn’t help but hug her.

This wasn’t what he was expecting when Maez had dragged him all the way out to Tenebrae but he was more than content with the outcome.

He had part of his family back.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the end of this fic!  
> I had so much fun writing this and it went through a lot of changes before we got to this ending. I'm pretty happy with this ending and I'm so happy that so many people have enjoyed reading it.  
> Thanks for everything guys.  
> And remember, caps lock is the way to my heart! Feel free to come scream with me!

**Author's Note:**

> And that wraps this chapter!  
> Pidge is basically my Patronus and I love writing her so this little ditty was born.  
> Please let me know what you think and as always, caps lock is the way to my heart!  
> Until next time!


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